Berwick has been making its own power for a long time, and now the Nova Scotia town says it is past halfway to running on renewable energy alone.

The town of about 2,500 people gets roughly 60 percent of the power it uses from wind, solar and hydroelectric sources as it works toward becoming a zero-emissions community.

Berwick is using a hydroelectric dam that has been operating since 1921, along with a wind farm and a solar garden.

“The start of energy creation in Berwick is well over 100 years old,” said Mike Trinacty, mayor of Berwick.

Wind turbines provide most of the renewable energy the town uses, while the 12,000-panel solar garden powers the equivalent of 400 homes.

“It’s really impressive what it does for our bottom line. I’m all smiles so far. I haven’t seen its downside yet,” said Adam King, director of electric services for the Berwick Electric Commission.

Trinacty said investing in renewable energy infrastructure is good for the environment and lowers costs for residents.

“Historically, [town rates] have been well below Nova Scotia power rates. Right now for residents, we’re probably three and a half percent lower,” he said.

He said rates will likely rise for Berwick customers to help cover the cost of the new infrastructure, but will still remain below Nova Scotia Power.

Trinacty said having the town’s own electric utility has also meant fewer outages and faster response times when problems happen.

“It’s more reliable and we hear that all the time because we have our own staff and we produce our own power,” he said.

King said the hydroelectric dam gives the utility flexibility in how it distributes power.

“That generation allows us to have dispatchable power, not just power running all the time in the background,” he said. “We can hold on to it and release it at supper time or at breakfast time or at peaks and we can use it to be deliberate.”

But the town is also dealing with the limits of aging infrastructure. The hydroelectric dam is out of commission while it undergoes $6 million in upgrades to extend its lifespan and expand its capacity.

The work is expected to take a couple of years, and during that time Berwick will produce less renewable energy.

“Having your own electric utility is no easy task. Creating your own energy is no easy task,” Trinacty said.

He said the town also faces provincial red tape if it wants to increase energy production or change rates, and he wants Nova Scotia to introduce legislation like other provinces that would let municipal electrical commissions make their own decisions.

Berwick is still working out how it will close the remaining gap to its energy target. Trinacty said staff are looking at storing energy in batteries and buying power from wind farms expected to begin operating soon.

“I think that we’re going to get there. We’re going to work very hard to do that,” he said.

Read more from CBC.