Author: CREDNB

Update on the proposed Tantramar Gas Plant

The NB Media Co-op and The Energy Mix both have the story of the Government of New Brunswick’s recent approval of the proposed gas plant in Tantramar. Here’s the details:

Province approves Tantramar gas/diesel plant with 45 conditions. (August 31). NB Media Co-op story HERE.
The New Brunswick government has approved construction of a 500 MW gas/diesel plant near Centre Village subject to 45 conditions that require the U.S. company PROENERGY to monitor air and water quality and submit a net zero greenhouse gas emissions plan after one full year of operation.

New Brunswick Greenlights 500-MW Tantramar Gas Plant, Subject to Conditions. (August 28). The Energy Mix story HERE.
The New Brunswick government on Friday granted conditional approval for a 500-megawatt natural gas plant that officials say is crucial to avoid rolling electricity blackouts within the next two years. The green light comes after the province completed an environmental impact assessment on the project. The government said U.S.-based ProEnergy would need to meet a series of 45 conditions before building and while running the facility.

‘Do your job’: Federal minister pressed to review Centre Village gas plant (August 18). NB Media Co-op story HERE.
The executive director of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute is renewing his call for federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin to order a comprehensive review of the proposed 500 MW gas/diesel plant near Centre Village. “We’re asking her to do her job,” Barry Rothfuss said on August 13 during a telephone interview. “Right now, we have, in my view, an illegal environmental assessment taking place in the province of New Brunswick,” he added.

NB Power’s proposed gas plant in Tantramar: ‘opposites day’ revisited. (August 6). NB Media Co-op story HERE.
Fans of Sesame Street will recall the iconic video “Opposites Day,” in which Bert and Ernie learn all about opposites. Whatever they do, the reverse is intended. Whatever they say, the opposite is meant. Hilarious for adults, educational for the kids. In a stark example of life imitates art, Tantramar Municipal Council and residents were treated recently to their own version of Opposites Day, as NB Power’s Chief Commercial Officer Brad Coady and his entourage appeared before Municipal Council on July 14. The ostensible purpose? To demonstrate transparency about the proposed 500-megawatt fossil fuel power generation plant for Centre Village in Tantramar, to be built, owned and operated by the American firm PROENERGY. But the result? Obscurity, unintelligibility, obfuscation. Opposites Day indeed.

PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia’s MOU marks an important step towards doubling grid capacity

In July, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance Maritime regional electricity cooperation and system integration — marking an important step towards a deeper regional electricity system. 

The agreement between the three provinces establishes a process to develop a transmission roadmap, exploring how greater coordination of electricity planning, transmission, generation and emerging energy resources can strengthen the region’s energy system. It also opens the door to exploring new approaches to regional grid operations, including the potential for a Maritime Independent System Operator.

While the final model is yet to be developed, the MOU represents a meaningful shift toward breaking down provincial silos and finding new ways to improve reliability, make smarter infrastructure investments, and build a stronger electricity system for the region. 

Read the full statement by Climate Action Network Canada HERE. CRED-NB is a member of the national network.

CRED-NB signs submission to government on Major Projects proposal

CRED-NB, a member of Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac), signed the network’s submission to the federal government on its proposal: Getting Major Projects Built in Canada.

The submission states that streamlining regulatory assessments will not solve the problem of project delays, often caused by economic factors like unstable commodities markets, and will not increase the certainty of a project’s economic benefits. Moreover, dismantling environmental protections at this scale will result in lower public trust and loss of social licence, which will make it harder to build major projects in the long run.

Read the full submission HERE. CRED-NB is a CAN-Rac member.

Indigenous financial stake not essential for Tantramar gas plant: NB Power executive

CRED-NB is a member of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition that is fighting a proposed fossil gas and diesel plant in Tantramar. NB Power’s agreement with ProEnergy requires the American company to establish “a partnership and consultation with Indigenous communities.” In the latest development about the project, an NB Power executive said an Indigenous partnership is not essential.

Read the article by Bruce Wark in the NB Media Co-op HERE.

Coalition Files Court Challenge to Tantramar Gas Project

The Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition (PCIC) filed an application for judicial review of the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board’s approval of the proposed Renewable Integration and Grid Security Project (RIGS) in Tantramar.

The EUB approved the project in May that includes a proposed 400-megawatt dual-fuel generating facility and an additional 100-megawatt expansion intended to supply power to Nova Scotia. The project’s capital cost is expected to exceed $1 billion, and if it goes ahead, it will raise electricity rates. This is a story written by Jim Emberger of the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance. Read the full story and download a copy of the PCIC petition on the NBASGA website HERE.

CRED-NB is a member of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition and NBASGA is a CRED-NB Champion.

Stability will come from investing in clean energy, not uncertain fossil fuel exports

Climate Action Network Canada issued a statement in early July responding to Alberta’s application for a pipeline to the Major Projects Office. In part, the statement includes: “[W]e find ourselves in a treacherous moment of geopolitical instability. But in 2026, stability for our economy, for our communities, and for our planet will come from diversifying not only from an unstable trading partner, but from volatile fossil fuels. The “biblical weather” that delayed the announcement made the point for us: climate change itself is a growing source of instability. Continuing to expand fossil fuel production when Canadians are already living with climate chaos is simply dangerous.”

Read the full statement HERE.

Nuclear Energy Strategy a “Cash Cow” for the Nuclear Industry

Ottawa – Critics from civil society organizations and academia are calling out the Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada released by the Federal Government as a cash cow for the nuclear industry and a hubris-driven attempt to grab world “energy superpower” status based on past-Century technology.

The Strategy, released on June 22, is an ambitious agenda to spend public funds on new nuclear reactors to the detriment of readily available clean renewable sources, and to short-circuit independent oversight of nuclear projects.

The document reads like a wish list of nuclear developments, including the goal of 10 new large reactor projects in Canada by 2040. It parallels a US announcement made the next day, also promising 10 new large reactor projects and standing to benefit some of the same corporations.

Read the full media release HERE.

Action alert by July 22: Say goodbye to independent assessments of nuclear projects

Given the considerable pushback to the federal government’s discussion paper to reduce regulatory oversight of many types of projects, the deadline for feedback is extended until July 22. Action alert and more info HERE.

The federal Discussion Paper, Delivering on Big Projects in Canada outlined the plan to shorten and reduce environmental impact assessment. The plan will hit nuclear projects particularly hard, handing the assessment process over to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.  The deadline for comment is July 22, and it’s expected that new legislation will follow later this year.

Opponents vow ‘fight is not over’ after EUB approves gas plant

CRED-NB is a member of the Coalition to Protect the Chignecto Isthmus (CPIC) that is fighting the development of a fossil gas plant that was given the green light this week by New Brunswick’s Energy and Utilities Board. This article by Bruce Wark in the NB Media Co-op, HERE, has the reaction of CPIC, New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.