Ongoing efforts to oppose nuclear power in Quebec and New Brunswick.
energy policy
Doing energy policy right in Nova Scotia
We should ban these outside energy experts. Every time one shows up at a Utility and Review Board hearing to remind us how muddled our energy practices are, it makes us look bad. This time it's about the planned $200-million-plus wood-burning power plant at Port Hawkesbury.
As if it wasn't enough that the project will devastate the forest even more than it already is, that burning wood is apparently as bad as burning coal and won't reduce greenhouse gas, and that a similar plant in New England was apparently built for half the projected cost, along comes U.S. renewable energy consultant Barry Sheingold to tell us that Nova Scotia Power Inc. hasn't done its homework on the project.
Why Canada needs more community power
Given the scientific consensus that wind turbines are not dangerous to human health, as opponents have claimed, it is time to shift focus to a real issue: fixing wind energy policy to increase community power in Canada.
Hoping for Hydro-Quebec's appearance at Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board hearings
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Hydro-Quebec is thinking of intervening in the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board hearings on the Muskrat Falls/Maritime Link project, declaring itself "very surprised by the analysis and conclusions" of the recent report by consultant John Dalton that declared Muskrat Falls a far better deal for Nova Scotia than the alternatives, including power from Hydro-Quebec.
We can only hope it does. This could be a good thing for both the utility and Atlantic Canada.
First, we'd get the missing other view on what those interconnections to Quebec and their economics really are, and maybe where Hydro-Quebec stands on future deals.
January 18, 2013 |
The Canadian government should heed the Norwegian example and reclaim control of the petroleum industry -- collaborating with provinces, territories and first nations in energy strategy.
Burning the forest for flawed energy in Nova Scotia's forest policy
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Like you, I'm trying to figure out what we've got after the big forest conflagration as pulp mills go down at enormous public cost, ending with the province buying the Bowater lands in western Nova Scotia for some $118 million. Is it new hope or something else?
But before I get to that, let me fume a bit about the forest policy of the last 50 years by evoking a couple of low points that still niggle at me.
Proposed Muskrat Falls project renews much-needed energy debate
The proposed $6-billion-plus Muskrat Falls project in Labrador, so casually assumed to be the cornerstone of our electricity solution by the governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, is raising tons of skepticism in both places, and rightly so.
My guess is that it won't go ahead -- at least not now -- mainly for Newfoundland reasons, as more and more people are gagging at the big numbers and shaky logic. Hopefully, however, the debate over it will force us to face the realities of our energy situation and to move ahead on another path.
The growth of community-owned green energy in Canada
Community power was given a boost this summer with the release of the second round of Nova Scotia's Community Feed-In Tariff (COMFIT) projects on July 9, 2012 and Ontario's FIT 2.0 Program Rules on August 10, 2012.
Until now, ownership and participation in Canada's growing green energy sector has been dominated by private sector interests. It looks like things may be starting to change.
Community power means community‑owned renewable energy products that are developed and controlled (entirely or in part) by people living in the community. In other parts of the world, such as Germany and Denmark, large portions of green power are in fact community power projects. In Canada, however, most renewable energy projects are privately owned.
July 30, 2012 |
Blue Green Canada agrees it's time for a serious chat about a real energy strategy