New Brunswick Encourages Small Local Power

N.B. staying ahead of the pack with green energy
Published Saturday February 27th, 2010
D7Bruno Roy
Earlier this month, Energy Minister Jack Keir unveiled a brand new community energy policy that represents a new way of looking at sustainable energy production in New Brunswick.

The policy delivers again on another promise by the Liberal government, and is something that New Brunswickers should pay close attention to.

The idea is to support the growth and development of locally owned and operated renewable energy projects. The projects must be environmentally friendly, with the definition of renewable including biomass, wind, solar, small hydro or tidal power.

These projects are relatively small in nature, tiny when compared to the likes of Mactaquac Dam or Point Lepreau.

These projects will be less than 15 megawatts in terms of energy produced compared to the hundreds of megawatts produced by our major power plants. But it allows communities and First Nations communities to have more control over their energy needs. It also encourages investment in innovative new ways to produce energy in our province.

This won't be a case of private interests from elsewhere moving in and setting up little power plants in communities for profit. These projects will be designed, built, owned, and operated by New Brunswickers. Each project must have a majority New Brunswick owner that is a First Nations community, municipality, co-operative, association or not-for-profit organization.

This policy will not only create sustainable communities in New Brunswick. It will also be a tool for economic development and job creation.

This was one of the stated goals in the Liberal platform Charter for Change. The party promised to encourage research and development of alternative energy, and make New Brunswick a pioneer in the implementation of green power technology.

This community energy policy is another step in that direction toward a cleaner, technologically advanced province. Under the leadership of Efficiency NB, the Liberal government immediately embarked on an aggressive program to increase energy efficiency in our homes and businesses to reduce power usage. This has been a highly successful program, cutting electricity costs significantly for thousands of New Brunswick families. The program has also drawn praise across the country, and is recognized as one of Canada's leading energy efficiency programs.

Wind energy is another sector that this government has pursued aggressively. It is this Liberal government that saw the first windmills in the province erected, adding more clean energy to our electricity grid.

The community energy project has been well-received in communities throughout the province. The chief of the Metapanagieg First Nation says this policy will help him pursue a potential plasma gasification plant in his community, potentially creating 200 construction jobs and 40 long-term full time jobs which would be welcomed in a region with a high unemployment rate. The Mayor of Belledune says he's interested in pursuing wind, water and solar energy projects as a means of generating revenue, and called the new community energy project "very exciting."

Other communities and environmental leaders have chimed in with similar praise, and enthusiasm to explore new energy possibilities.

Critics of the deal to bring lower power rates to all New Brunswickers and billions of dollars less debt to NB Power have suggested that accessing hydro power from Quebec is a bad omen for homegrown renewable, green energy projects.

Nothing could be further from the truth, and major advancements made in both wind energy and community energy projects in this province are proof of that.

The initial phase of this community energy project is calling for a total of 75 megawatts of power from a variety of green sources. A request for expressions of interest will be issued before the end of May to identify potential projects and their proponents.

These are exciting times for energy in New Brunswick and it's not all about the Liberal government's attempts to lower your power bill and the opposition's attempts to prevent that from happening. The community energy policy is another exciting step in moving New Brunswick forward when the world is losing its taste for large carbon-based pollution-spewing power plants.

Premier Graham, Energy Minister Jack Keir and the entire Liberal caucus are aware the world around them is changing. And they are making sure New Brunswick stays at the front of the pack when it comes to change for the better.

* A resident of Dieppe, Bruno Roy was a Liberal candidate in the 2006 Provincial General Election. He is a past Executive Director of the New Brunswick Liberal Association. His column will appear every second Saturday.