Prime Minister Blaine Higgs says he is not sure a proposed interprovincial energy-sharing megaproject can meet the power needs of the Atlantic region.
The four Atlantic premiers asked Ottawa last week to set clear timelines and funding commitments for the Atlantic Loop project, which would allow clean hydroelectric power from Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador to flow through the Maritimes via a network. improved transmission.
Bt Higgs isn’t sure it’s enough to replace fossil fuel-generated power.
“Even with current projections, it cannot meet the needs of the Atlantic region,” Higgs said during a news conference after a meeting of the Atlantic Council of Prime Ministers last week.
The Atlantic Loop project has often been heralded as a key component in helping the Maritime provinces meet federal clean energy goals in the next decade. Power from coal and oil account for about a fifth of New Brunswick’s power generation alone, but will not be able to be burned for power after 2030 and 2035, respectively.
According to a discussion paper published by the Atlantica Center for Energy, a Saint John-based energy research group, the loss of energy from coal and oil will see the province’s generating capacity cut in half.
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“That’s a significant portion of our base load, which means it’s constant electricity that can support, especially given our winter weather, those spikes in demand when we have those really cold days,” Atlantica president Michelle Robichaud said.
New Brunswick had sought an equivalency agreement with the federal government to allow the province’s Belledune coal-fired power station to remain operational beyond the 2030 deadline, promising comparable carbon emission reductions elsewhere, but was ultimately rejected. . The 450-megawatt plant had an original lifespan that would have kept it running until 2040.
Higgs has said the coal and oil phase-out being implemented by the federal government needs to be delayed to allow other technologies to come online and replace that baseload power.
“Where we are now is in the transition to go to a greener economy, but we realize now that there are huge gaps in supply, timing and cost,” he said.
But those perceived gaps are due to Higgs having tunnel vision into a particular technology, according to clean energy researcher Louise Comeau.
“If you think your only option is small modular nuclear reactors and traditional fossil fuel sources and you don’t invest in the alternatives, then obviously your only solution is to stick with the old options,” said Comeau, the director. on climate change and energy policy at the New Brunswick Conservation Council.
There are two Saint John-based companies trying to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). The first reactor, built by ARC Clean Energy, will come online in 2029 and will provide 100 megawatts of power. The other company, Moltex Energy, hopes to have a 300-megawatt reactor completed sometime in the 2030s.
Robichaud says that while the technology looks promising, there are risks that it might not be available when the province needs it.
“Is that going to be on time?” she said.
“So if we’re looking at the cost and the timing and the potential to replace some of these fossil fuels, that’s something we need to look at pretty seriously right now.”
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Comeau says a better solution would be to increase the province’s wind and solar capacity, while working to ensure we power and heat the province much more efficiently and rely on the Atlantic Loop project to provide that baseload power.
“We need that steady baseload power, but the fact is that hydropower from Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec can act like a battery, there to balance when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining,” he said.
But Higgs is concerned that the Atlantic Loop project may not be ready in time to fill that role, as timelines and funding sources remain murky.
“Timelines for large projects like this are significant,” he said.
A spokesman for the federal department of intergovernmental affairs said work is underway to move the project forward, but firm construction timelines have not yet been set.
“Canada, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces and their respective utilities are actively meeting bilaterally and multilaterally through the Atlantic Loop Backbone Working Table to discuss options for moving the Atlantic Loop project forward. Five work streams have been initiated with provinces and utilities to advance discussions on technical and financial pathways for the project,” Pierre-Alain Bujold wrote in an email.
“As the Infrastructure Bank of Canada noted in its spring market update, the bank is engaging in discussions and working with all partners to explore financing options to move the project forward.”
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