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CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Opponents of new gas plant accuse N.B. Power of trying to evade regulatory scrutiny
Social Sharing Advocates are raising concerns that N.B. Power is looking to shortcut the regulatory process and avoid public scrutiny of its proposed 400-megawatt gas plant. "It's an attempt to evade the regulatory process and that's unacceptable," said Green Leader David Coon. N.B. Power is required to get approval from the Energy and Utilities Board for capital projects costing more than $50 million, but are arguing that a $70-million transmission facility required for a new natural gas generating facility in the province's southeast should be excepted from that scrutiny. Normally, that would trigger a review of the entire project. Coon said it's clear the utility doesn't believe the independent EUB would see the economic argument for it. "It says to me they don't have much faith in the Energy and Utilities Board deciding that these expenditures would be in the economic interests of New Brunswickers given the alternatives," he said. "The alternatives are there. I mean, places from the city of Saint John to the state of Vermont are using large battery storage systems on the scale of hundreds of megawatts in the case of Vermont to provide peak power." N.B. Power's application makes the case that the structure of the deal to build and operate the plant and necessary infrastructure doesn't count as a traditional capital investment. The new plant will be owned and operated by ProEnergy, which will sell the power generated back to N.B. Power. Because the plant is being built by and will be wholly owned by ProEnergy, the project doesn't require hearings and board approval. WATCH | 'They have a right to see what's going on,' says critic calling for review: Opponents of new gas plant say N.B. Power is trying to evade public scrutiny 7 minutes ago However, the project also includes a $70-million switchyard that ProEnergy has agreed to build. By law, only N.B. Power can own transmission assets in the province, so once completed, it will be sold to the utility for a dollar. N.B. Power argues that since they aren't building it, the transfer shouldn't count as a capital project and should therefore be shielded from board review and the public hearings that come with it — even though it will show up as a $70-million asset in its capital structure, with the depreciation and liabilities that come with it. A spokesperson for N.B. Power said in a statement that the application is intended to get the EUB's opinion on how to treat these types of agreements. "This structure differs from N.B. Power building and operating a long-term asset, where we would assume all operational risks, ultimately borne by the ratepayer. This is a new type of agreement for NB Power, and we felt it was important to seek the NBEUB's opinion," Elizabeth Fraser said in an email. Fraser added that while a full EUB review would take longer, they believe the plant could still be ready by 2028. N.B. Power said previously that the plant is necessary to address the growing population and demand for energy in the province and to provide a backup to intermittent renewable power. The utility is also looking to add hundreds of megawatts of wind energy to its generation mix in coming years and says the plant will be a crucial part of ensuring it has the energy it needs when demand dictates. According to environmental assessment filings, work to prepare the site is intended to start as early as next year, with the plant coming online in 2028. ProEnergy's lead for the project previously told CBC that it's expected the project could result in a 250,000-tonne reduction in N.B. Power's greenhouse gas emissions as the plant would displace more polluting sources of power. Reduction claims need to be tested Moe Qureshi, the director of climate change research and policy at the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said those claims need to be tested in the EUB's public hearing process to determine if the plant, or the deal, is in the best interest of New Brunswickers. "The EUB is the way to review that information to check if this is really the best choice for New Brunswick and, without that oversight, I think we're going to get into more problems rather than less," he said. "What if this costs us more down the road than what we think now? And I think if the ratepayers have to pay for this, they have a right to see what's going on." The EUB filing also provides more details about how ProEnergy will be paid for the facility. N.B. Power will pay for the fuel used to power the plant and purchase the power generated. But they will also make monthly "capacity payments" based on how much power the utility purchased versus what the facility could produce. Fraser said payments will be based on a "'pay for performance' model, meaning we are only subject to payments when the facility meets a high level of availability." N.B. Power's EUB filing states they expect the capacity payments will eclipse $50 million over the 25-year lifespan of the agreement. A pre-hearing conference is scheduled for Aug. 12, with hearing dates set for the beginning of September.
CBC
17-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Big emissions estimate a worst-case scenario, gas plant builder says
Social Sharing The U.S. company hired to build a natural gas plant in southeast New Brunswick says an annual greenhouse gas emissions estimate of 900,000 tonnes per year is a worst-case scenario that is unlikely to come to pass. That figure, contained in the company's environmental impact assessment submission, is nine times higher than what N.B. Power said when the plant was first announced last December. But a spokesperson for ProEnergy said the number comes from a "stressed case" scenario in which the plant would be "responding to a major upheaval in the grid," operating at full capacity for almost one-third of the year. "In our experience, this type of operation would not happen over a long duration period as market conditions and grid operations would respond appropriately," spokesperson Chris Evans said in an emailed statement ot CBC News. WATCH | Gas plant will help lower N.B. emissions overall, company says: How much carbon dioxide will a proposed new gas plant emit? 44 minutes ago Evans said the estimate of 100,000 tonnes from N.B. Power is "the expected, typical operation of a peaking plant" like the one it plans to build. Green MLA Megan Mitton, whose Tantramar riding is where the plant will be built, called the difference between the estimates "an astounding gap." Following ProEnergy's explanation, Mitton said she still questioned the need for a new natural gas plant to generate electricity. "This supposed transition fuel — this transition is taking way too long," she said. "It's not actually a transition. It's keeping us locked in with this type of infrastructure. We shouldn't be building new fossil fuel infrastructure." N.B. Power said it will buy electricity from the plant to provide backup power to the utility's growing use of renewable wind and solar energy. Because those sources aren't constant, the grid requires a more reliable base load of electricity it can turn on and off quickly when it's needed. Both N.B. Power and ProEnergy said the gas plant will allow the utility to use less electricity from fuel oil at the Coleson Cove plant and from coal at Belledune, leading to a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 250,000 tonnes a year. Mitton said there's debate about whether natural gas is any better than coal because of methane leakage that can happen in the natural gas supply chain. ProEnergy's EIA assessment said N.B. Power looked at other options, including energy conservation to lower consumption, and large-scale battery storage of renewable energy to meet peak demand. But other options weren't enough to head off a potential shortfall of electricity generation as early as 2028, the submission says. ProEnergy is seeking approval for a plant with 10 turbines capable of generating 500 megawatts of power, though the agreement with N.B. Power is for 400 megawatts from eight turbines. The utility said this week it could sign agreements with other provinces to add those two turbines and export the electricity regionally. Mitton said people in her Tantramar riding are just starting to hear about the gas plant and are questioning whether it's needed and why N.B. Power selected an American company in the midst of a trade dispute with the U.S. N.B. Power vice-president Brad Coady said the utility invited bids long before the trade dispute began, and five companies submitted bids, including Canadian companies. "We went with who could deliver the least-cost solution on the schedule that N.B. Power is demanding to meet our energy security needs," he said. "If you look at it through those two lenses, our chosen partner in this project by far was the best solution for New Brunswickers." The project must go through a federal environmental assessment. The provincial government is able to waive the need for a separate provincial review. Work is projected to start at the site early next year, with the plant operational in the third quarter of 2028.
CBC
16-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.B. Power, U.S. company pick Tantramar site for natural gas plant
Social Sharing N.B. Power has changed the location of a proposed natural gas plant it wants to see built in southeast New Brunswick, opting for a remote location in the Tantramar area instead of a site in Scoudouc. The plant would begin operating in 2028 and would be able to generate 500 megawatts of electricity, most of it to meet growing demand caused by population growth. It would also emit greenhouse gases, though N.B. Power said last year there would be a net reduction in emissions provincially because the new plant would provide backup generation for an increasing share of wind and solar energy on the grid. "Today, for example, there's 400 megawatts of installed wind energy in New Brunswick and only about 40 megawatts is producing electricity," Brad Coady, N.B. Power's vice-president of business development, said in an interview. "What we're looking for is nimble machines that can come on, come on quickly and only stay on as long as is needed to integrate that wind energy. It'll fill in the voids when the wind isn't there and the sun isn't there." The plant would be built by Missouri-based ProEnergy and operated by its subsidiary, Rigs Energy Atlantic, which includes a minority equity investment from the North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council made up of seven First Nations. N.B. Power, U.S. builder pick Tantramar site for gas plant 5 minutes ago John MacIsaac, who is heading the project for private developer ProEnergy Canada, said the plant will allow N.B. Power to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year. The 20-hectare site is in Centre Village, along Route 940, within the municipality of Tantramar. It's where the Maritimes and Northeast natural gas pipeline crosses paths with an N.B. Power transmission line. The plant would draw gas from that pipeline to run 10 turbines that would generate power to sell on the grid under a 25-year purchase agreement. The assessment submission says the Tantramar site was chosen after consultations with the Mi'kmaw council, which said there would be fewer environmental impacts than at the Scoudouc site. If the plant is approved, preliminary work would start in early 2026, and it would be operating by the third quarter of 2028. MacIsaac said his figure of a 250,000-tonne net reduction in N.B. Power's greenhouse gas emissions came from ProEnergy's discussions with the utility. A utility spokesperson gave that figure last year and said the reduction would come from avoiding the use of coal at the Belledune generation station and fuel oil at Coleson Cove — both of which emit more carbon dioxide — to back up renewables. But that calculation was based on what the spokesperson said would be 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from the gas plant itself in its first year of operation. ProEnergy's assessment document says it would emit more than 910,000 tonnes. Neither MacIsaac nor Coady were able to explain the difference in the two figures. N.B. Power officials said in 2023 that they had come close to not being able to meet the demand for electricity in the province during a February cold snap. Since then, the utility has faced lengthy shutdowns at two power plants and is now planning for the phaseout of coal from its Belledune generating station by 2030. The application says the utility had calculated it would need more generation in the early 2030s but now believes it may require it by the winter of 2028. Asking people to cut back on consumption wouldn't reduce demand enough, it says. Coady said N.B. Power would use 400 megawatts from the plant, about 80 per cent of its capacity, and the additional 100 megawatts could be part of a future agreement to supply other provinces. "There's potential there, there's opportunity there, and I'll say we're working on it." The project will go through a federal environmental impact assessment. Provincially, the environment minister can waive the need for a separate process based on the recommendation of a technical review committee. The plant will also use ultra-low sulphur diesel as a backup fuel. It could eventually use hydrogen — a gas often touted as an even cleaner alternative — but the submission says it is "currently not technically or economically feasible."
