Deadline for sale of failed DSME Trenton plant delayed again

Business Minister Geoff MacLellan says the province's deadline for a decision on the sale of the idle Trenton wind turbine plant had been pushed back for a second time to around the end of June.

Optimism low idle wind turbine facility will reopen as a major employer

The Canadian Press ·
Business Minister Geoff MacLellan has suggested one option for the massive plant and property is to turn it over to the Crown-owned Nova Scotia Lands for development. (CBC)

​It's among Atlantic Canada's largest industrial sites — a massive former wind tower manufacturing plant in Trenton, N.S., developed with $56 million in provincial funding.

But with the clock ticking on a provincial deadline to find a buyer, optimism is low that the former DSME Trenton plant will reopen as a major employer.

Last week, Geoff MacLellan, Nova Scotia's business minister, said the province's deadline for a decision on the plant had been pushed back for a second time to around the end of June.

The former DSME Trenton plant was developed with $56 million in provincial funding. (CBC)

MacLellan has been coy about whether there are any serious business bids for the plant, and has also mused about eventually turning the property over to the Crown-owned Nova Scotia Lands for development.

Shannon MacInnis, Trenton's mayor, said the town is "crossing its fingers" for a last-ditch sale, but he adds it has never been approached with a solid business plan by any prospective buyer.

MacInnis says whatever is done, the property needs to have a "taxable entity" that can help the town of about 2,500 to thrive.

The province is the primary secured creditor for the plant, which was closed in February, 2016 and placed in receivership.

The province's deadline for a decision on the Trenton plant had been pushed back for a second time to around the end of June. (CBC)