Black River Hydro Limited

Renewable Energy developer, and policy advocate for Solar, Wind, Small Hydro, and domestic sized hydro, Neal Livingston has a 30 year career as a renewable energy developer and policy advocate for solar, water and wind power.

Black River Hydro Limited: Since 1984 Livingston owns and operates Black River Hydro Ltd., a 220 kilowatt hydro-electric plant which he planned, contracted, and oversaw the building of. It was Nova Scotia's first new private company selling electricity to the grid. It has a long term contract to sell its power to Nova Scotia power.

This work also involved years of public advocacy policy work to have fair rates and conditions for small private producers. This 1990 policy victory has now been scrapped by the Nova Scotia Government which unfortunately prefers an "unregulated" market where the private utility without oversight set all the rules and rates paid for renewables. Some changes are pending to public policy for 2011 in Nova Scotia.

Micro-Hydro:

Since 1980 both at his home and helping others to do the same. Livingston had one of the first modern micro hydro units at his home since 1980, stand alone from the grid, and then was the first person to net meter with the utility from home sine 1993.