Tag: Tantramar Gas Power Plant

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.

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.

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.

CRED-NB’s statement on the EUB approval of the Tantramar Gas Plant

CRED-NB is deeply disappointed by the approval of the 500-megawatt gas-and-diesel plant proposed for Tantramar by the NB Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) on May 28.

While the plant threatens the sensitive Chignecto ecosystem, human health from toxic and climate-changing emissions, and aenergy affordability, the EUB is not required to consider the added costs these impacts would impose on the public.

As Megan Mitton, MLA for Tantramar, observed, the EUB is only required to determine if the project is “reasonable financially.”

It’s hard to see how approving a project that will contribute to rising electricity bills and increasing costs for health care and climate-related emergency response is reasonable financially.

Despite this setback, opponents are considering next steps, including launching a legal review of the EUB’s decision.

The power of the provincial government to overturn a decision by the EUB was removed by legislation in 2013.

In its decision, the EUB rebuked NB Power for filing insufficient information in support of its application for regulatory approval. In a CBC article, Lisa J Griffin, organizer of the Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition, noted that when Prince Edward Island’s energy regulator faced a similar difficulty during its ongoing hearings for gas plants from ProEnergy, the same company building the Tantramar project, it commissioned a study from Synapse Energy Economics of Massachusetts. The study concluded that battery storage was cheaper than gas plants and brought added benefits.

Why didn’t the EUB commission such a study when it found NB Power’s information on alternatives insufficient? Was it because ProEnergy had set June 2 as the deadline for regulatory approval, failing which it would walk away from its contract with NB Power?

Would pausing the hearings to commission a study have fallen outside the EUB’s mandate? In either case, the regulations governing the EUB have not served the public interest. Reform of the EUB Act should be considered. When the information supplied to support the project is insufficient, the EUB should not be bound by proponent “deadlines” and instead be able to extend the timelines to gather sufficient information to make an informed decision.

MayDay rally in Tantramar

May 1st, from 4 to 6 PM, rain or shine, rally to show opposition to the proposed gas plant in Tantramar. Gather at the site of the Centre Village gas plant, 1612 Route 940 in Tantramar. Bring signs and be ready to make noise! Seniors for Climate Tantramar and other members of the Protect The Chignecto Isthmus Coalition (PCIC) will take part in the Protest. CRED-NB is a PCIC member. The Protest will send a clear message to Premier Holt, Minister Legacy, NB Power and ProEnergy that the proposed gas plant is not welcome in Centre Village, or anywhere.

Questions about another ProEnergy gas plant – in P.E.I.

ProEnergy Services is active not only in New Brunswick but also P.E.I. A new study raises significant concerns about proposals by the provincial utility in that province, Maritime Electric, to purchase two refurbished aeroderivative combustion turbines from ProEnergy Services to service the Prince Edward Island electrical grid. Read the article and see the link to the study HERE.

The study could be useful for activists in New Brunswick fighting the Tantramar gas plant proposal. The study was commissioned by Climate Action Network Canada and the Ecology Action Centre. CRED-NB is a member of Climate Action Network Canada.

Over 120 scientists and academics say ‘no’ to Tantramar shale gas plant

Several CRED-NB members joined the more than 120 scientists and academics from all four universities in New Brunswick (Université de Moncton, University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, Mount Allison University) signed a letter to Susan Holt, asking the Premier to intervene and stop NB Power’s proposal to build a fossil gas plant in Tantramar. The letter was published in the Telegraph Journal, Acadie Nouvelle and the NB Media Co-op. Read the letter HERE.

More opposition to gas-fired power plant in Tantramar

On Wednesday January 14 the Tantramar Climate Change Advisory Committee organized an public information session on the gas-fire power plant proposed by with NB Power. The session included a presentation by Brad Coady of NB Power followed several pointed questions. The questions included topics such as the potential impact on the environment and residents, why better options are not being pursued, and whether there is a need for such a plant.

Mira Dietz Chiasson, a Tantramar resident, wrote an open letter to Susan Holt about the event. See her letter at the NB Media Coop: We can do better: Cancel the Tantramar gas plant now and replace it with battery storage systems.