TRENTON, N.S. -- A steel manufacturing facility in northeastern Nova Scotia that received $56.3 million in provincial money is shutting down, ending an ambitious plan to create hundreds of jobs in the wind energy sector.

Business Minister Mark Furey said Friday that the board of directors for DSME Trenton, known as DSTN, had informed government the company is ceasing operations permanently.

"DSTN's future prospects have not improved over the past year, and the domestic wind tower market is well below expectations," Furey said in a statement.

"Government has few options except to prevent the risk of further loss while ensuring all assets are returned to Nova Scotians."

Furey said that after more than five years in business, DSTN did not make money on any contracts or achieve job targets.

He said DSTN has indicated it has several million dollars in cash, equipment and property, which could "minimize the potential cost to taxpayers for any environmental cleanup or receivership fees."

Furey said that with the province as the primary secured creditor, it will file for receivership to try to recover as much of its investment as possible.

Trenton Mayor Glen MacKinnon said the closure of the plant that dates back to the late 1800s is a big blow to the community of about 2,600 people.

"Obviously, it is not good news for the town," he said. "It means less jobs in Pictou County. Any economic hit to our area is very concerning and we will try as hard as we can to bring a new entity into that facility."

The company has indicated it has no customer orders, is operating in a maintenance mode with 19 employees and is paying about $400,000 a month to stay open.

The decision to close comes less than a month after the province said it wouldn't put any more public money into the manufacturing plant that had hoped to develop the capacity to produce 250 wind turbine towers and 200 blade sets per year.

At the time, the company said it was trying to secure orders in heavy steel fabrication in the wind, oil and gas and rail sectors.

The previous NDP government announced in 2010 it had taken a 49 per cent equity stake in the firm, committed $60 million to the manufacturing plant and predicted 500 jobs would be created within three years.

DSTN told government it cannot start payment on the repayable loans, which was scheduled to begin in early 2018.