Last week ten eastern governors (including the governor of every New England state except Connecticut) sent a letter (pdf) to Congress criticizing current legislative proposals regarding transmission. The governors noted that the current proposals
would designate national corridors for transmission of electricity from the Midwest to the East Coast, with the costs for that transmission allocated to all customers. While we support the development of wind resources for the United States wherever they exist, this ratepayer-funded revenue guarantee for land-based wind and other generation resources in the Great Plains would have significant negative consequences for our region
According to the governors, the current proposals would hinder the development of offshore and onshore wind and other renewable sources in the northeast by subsidizing competing onshore generation in the Midwest. They advocate a regional approach to transmission planning that doesn't favor one region's resources over another.
The letter prompted us to start what we hope will be a continuing feature here, profiling renewable energy projects in northeastern Canada. After all, if we're going to contemplate a transmission superhighway to bring wind power from the Dakotas, we may as well look to our (considerably closer) neighbors to the North. Our very own Tom Welch made this point earlier this year in an article in Law360 (subscription req), arguing that with proper stewardship, regional energy self-sufficiency could be a reality.
With all the excitement around wind, tidal and wave energy, there are still plans to construct large scale hydro-electric facilities on the Lower Churchill Project, on the Churchill River in Labrador. If you're not familiar with the Churchill River, perhaps a map will help:
According to project sponsor Nalcor Energy (formerly Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro), the Lower Churchill Project's sites at Gull Island and Muskrat Falls represent "two of the best undeveloped hydro sites in North America" with a total potential capacity of between 2,800 and 3,000 MW. Even at that size, the Lower Churchill project would still not be the largest hydro facility on the Churchill River: that title belongs to the 5,428 MW Churchill Falls facility, 100 miles to the west. The bulk of the energy from that facility is committed to Hydro Quebec through 2041 under a much-reviled power purchase agreement signed in 1969 (at a price of between $2 and $2.50 a MWh!).
The Lower Churchill project is currently undergoing environmental review: documents filed in that proceeding optimistically suggest that the project could begin construction in 2009 and be completed by 2018, but much work remains before construction can begin. Not suprisingly given its remote location, one major holdup is transmission lines to get the power out (the energy generated by the facility would far exceed the electricity needs of Labrador). The easiest solution would be an overland route linking the facility to the existing transmission link from Churchill Falls, but Labrador politicians are resistant to any plan that would make the new facility reliant on Hydro Quebec for access to markets. A number of undersea cables have been proposed that would link the project to the New England markets by island-hopping via some combination of Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The plans are nothing if not ambitious: in 2007, Newfoundland and Labrador signed an MOU with Rhode Island to study a long term power purchase agreement for Lower Churchill power.
Comments