Saint John wind energy project will deeply undercut NB Power rates
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Date:
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Subject: Automatic reply: YO Gaeton Thomas do
you and your buddy
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David Raymond Amos@DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos@Kathryn98967631 and 48 others Methinks
NB Power talks out of both sides of its mouth about wind energy They
certainly sing a different tune to the Yankees in Massachusetts byway of
their buddies in Emera N'esy Pas?
Saint John wind energy project will deeply undercut NB Power rates
69 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos I
talked to Mikey Holland when we were running in the last election and
sent him emails as well. Months later I talked to the NB Power
spokesperson Marc Belliveau before I was barred from the latest EUB
hearing about another rate increase. I cut short the conversation with
Belliveau the instant he insulted me then sent him and his new boss
Mikey Holland emails instead. Methinks everybody knows the reason I did
so was because Belliveau claimed that he knew all about me My question
should be who told Belliveau what about me N'esy Pas?
David Amos I
wonder if Ray Robinson or the NB Power dudes or anyone else can recall
what folks were saying about NB Power just 6 months ago as Mr Higgs
became Premier and his Deputy Mr Gauvin was thinking about quitting over
what their lawyer pal Ted Flemming was saying about language issues
within our Health Care System?
Methinks we should be far more concerned about NB Power wanting to put
us another 120 million or so in debt over not so smart meters while NB
Power continues to write huge cheques to the the Irvring Clan and their
cohorts N'esy Pas?
David Amos Methinks
much to NB Power's chagrin my position has not changed particularly
after their lawyers had their EUB buddies illegally bar me from another
rate increase hearing N'esy Pas?
David Amos Methinks the lawyers working for Ray Robinson and the NB Power dudes may enjoy a little Deja Vu about now Nesy Pas?
One can only imagine he hue and cry if power were imported from Quebec or Muskrat to supply NB of electric needs.
Shutting down polluting power plants should be considered.
David Amos
Reply to @Colin
Seeley: Methinks everybody knows that your hero Mr Higgs, his Irving
Clan buddies and the NB Power dudes don't care what the Green Meanies
say about anything N'esy Pas?
Neil MacLean Mr
Robinson has a utility background and therefore surely understands that
the cost of power is determined from the overall system, and not just
from part of the system. It isn't reasonable to have Saint John Energy
acting as both a generating utility to itself, and as a distribution
utility for NB Power where they pay no appropriate charge for the cost
of backup power to their SJ Energy generation. A huge part of the cost
of wind power is the cost of having immediately ready backup power to
deal with changes in the wind. Mr. Robinson may have fooled some
politicians and board members and citizens of Saint John as to the
reasonableness of his actions but it does not serve the interests of the
province to have a power system where there is not strong overall
operational coordination and at the same time fair allocation of total
costs. Incidentally since Mr. Robinson assumed his position, operations
within Saint John Energy have not been as sharp as under his
predecessors. Specifically there are now customers experiencing outages
of some length who formerly would only see very occasional brief
flickers of the lights during years and years of service. This isn't
just climate change. It appears Mr Robinson does not favour so much the
automatic switching of sections of distribution feeders to be fed from a
different substation when their link to their normal substation is
broken. Keeping the lights on with smart operations isn't as newsworthy
as wind power. Still, service is generally good because of the inherent
advantages of greater median customer density (than NB Power). But it
could be better with less debt and less news. Proper co-ordination of
generation developments in the province are critically important to
assure the most reasonable overall cost.
Fred
Brewer
Reply to @Neil MacLean:
With all due respect, I think you missed this part of the article:
"and Saint John Energy will continue to pay significant demand charges
to NB Power, in excess of $20 million per year, to reserve generation
capacity for itself for when the wind doesn't blow."
Roy Kirk
Reply to @Fred
Brewer: If I recall correctly, those demand charges are founded on an
assumption as to the variability of the load. If the load becomes
substantially more variable the demand charges will likely have to
increase to capture the costs.
David Amos
Reply to @Neil MacLean: Oh My My Don't I love the Circus
Chuck
Michaels "... NB Power has expressed concern at its last two rate hearings about having too much wind on its system already..."
The only excessive wind I see here is coming from the direction of
Energie NB Power... I would *happily^ go with an all-wind independent
provider - bonus if the cost was lower!
David Amos
Reply to @Chuck
Michaels: Methinks a lot of folks who care about their power bills
should ask Minister Mikey Holland and their MLA why I was barred from
the last two rate hearings within the EUB Trust that Mr Jones will never
tell you N'esy Pas?
David Amos Methinks
NB Power talks out of both sides of its mouth about wind energy They
certainly sing a different tune to the Yankees in Massachusetts byway of
their buddies in Emera N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks the people who don't like what i post no doubt work for NB Power N'esy Pas?
Marguerite Deschamps
Reply to @David Amos: and you think everyone else loves you?
David Amos
Reply to @Marguerite Deschamps: Methinks everybody knows why I am honoured by the fact that you don't N'esy Pas?
Dan Lee: More excuses not to run wind farms......what is wrong with them........
Harold
Benson
Reply to @Dan Lee: You'd find out if you had one in your back yard.
David Amos
Reply to @Harold
Benson: Methinks Sam should have informed you that nobody cares about
anything until it is in their backyard N'esy Pas?
Murray Brown NB
Power prefers to rely on 'magical' sources of energy produced with a
'secret' process that nobody understands, and sold to them by shady
business partners in Florida under investigation for securities fraud.
But this windmill stuff may have a future with Saint John Energy.
David Amos
Reply to @Murray Brown: Nobody cares about windmills in SainT John.
Methinks that this article is just fluff while Mr Jones continues to
ignore far more important issues with NB Power. The 357 Matter within
the EUB is a good example N'esy Pas?
NB
Power has told the Energy and Utilities board it is already dealing
with as much wind energy as it can handle and has not yet decided if it
will lease space on its transmission system to Saint John Energy for its
project. (Michael Heenan/CBC)
Saint John Energy has received bids on a
proposed city wind farm that will provide electricity so cheaply the
utility plans to proceed with the project even if NB Power does not
allow the use of its transmission infrastructure to move the energy.
"NB Power cannot stop the project from moving forward," said Saint John Energy CEO Ray Robinson.
"We can do this within our own means."
Saint
John Energy is one of NB Power's largest customers but has been working
on a project to generate some of its own electricity by constructing a
small wind farm on the western edge of the city.
The
plan calls for the installation and operation of up to 10 wind
turbines by 2022 on hills overlooking the Bay of Fundy, not far from NB
Power's Coleson Cove oil-fired generating station.
Saint John
Energy wants to tie the farm into nearby transmission infrastructure
owned by NB Power that serves Coleson Cove and then move it into the
city's distribution system from there, but the two utilities have not
yet been able to come to an agreement on that issue.
Too much wind?
NB
Power has expressed concern at its last two rate hearings about having
too much wind on its system already and has so far been non-committal
about working with Saint John Energy on its plan.
NB Power
spokesperson Marc Belliveau said the utility currently manages and
balances the unpredictable output of more than 100 windmills in New
Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and northern Maine with more coming
online soon and needs to assess what else, if anything, it can take on.
"NB
Power is currently studying the issue in order to better understand
these costs and to ensure that the right price signals are allocated to
all project developers in order to ensure that the most economically
efficient projects are integrated into the system on behalf of all New
Brunswickers," wrote Belliveau in an email to CBC News about the Saint
John Energy project.
Saint
John Energy is expected to select a developer for its wind farm this
summer from a shortlist of companies who responded to a request for
proposals that went out last winter. The particulars of the proposals
received are not known, but Robinson said they include prices for
electricity similar to those recently announced in western Canada.
Late
last year, Saskatchewan accepted a bid on a wind farm development for
an "all in" price of 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour, including transmission
costs. In 2017, Alberta accepted a bid of 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour
after holding an open auction for wind energy.
Saint
John Energy wants to develop a wind farm overlooking the Bay of Fundy
near NB Power's Coleson Cove generating station, pictured above, and use
NB Power transmission wires to move the electricity into the city. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)
That's
as much as 45 per cent cheaper than the 6.7 cents Saint John Energy
currently pays NB Power for electricity —not including
separate electrical "demand" charges. That's more than enough to finance
construction of its own infrastructure to connect a wind farm to the
distribution system if NB Power declines to help.
"These
are very credible proposals from credible developers and yes it's a
dramatic reduction in costs and it is in that order of magnitude we've
all seen out west," said Robinson about the bids Saint John Energy has
received.
The city
utility believes it can generate up to 140 million kilowatt hours of
electricity annually from 10 windmills — as much as 16 per cent of what
it currently buys from NB Power.
That
could provide the utility up to $3 million per year in savings on its
power bill. Saint John Energy's preference is to pay NB Power a fee to
use its transmission system for the development, but it will not be
deterred if the answer is no or the price NB Power eventually proposes
is too high.
Robinson
equated NB Power's transmission lines to a toll highway and said Saint
John Energy will happily use it unless its cheaper to build its own
thoroughfare.
"Are we
permitted to access the highway and, if we are, what's the toll rate,"
he said. "The scenario where we do it on our own — we can do it."
Swings in production
NB
Power is less enthusiastic about wind energy — and supporting Saint
John Energy's project — because of the difficulty managing the huge
swings in output wind produces.
At
its rate hearing last month, NB Power's senior system planning
engineer, Darren Clark, described how large high-pressure systems
sometimes settle over the province and kill all wind everywhere at the
same time.
At other
times, he said, wind blows strongly when demand for electricity is low,
forcing NB Power under terms of its contracts with wind farm owners to
pay for power it cannot resell.
"If it's windy, there is wind (power). If it's not, then there is not," said Clark. "It's a reliability and a capacity (issue)."
Because
wind energy can drop away to nothing from time to time, NB Power needs
to have enough generating capacity to operate as though the province had
no windmills at all.
NB
Power vice-president Keith Cronkhite said in 2017 between Christmas and
New Year the province was hit with a windless cold snap that drove wind
production almost to nothing, just as it was needed the most.
Saint
John Energy CEO Ray Robinson says the municipal utility received bids
on a proposed city wind farm that will provide electricity so cheaply
the utility plans to proceed even if NB Power won't help. (CBC)
"With
an installed capacity of approximately 300 megawatts of wind on the
system we were generating six megawatts of wind during those peak days,"
said Cronkhite. "We need to have, and are required to have backup for
when those events occur."
NB
Power estimated it costs one cent per kilowatt hour for it to manage
swings in wind production and to have alternative generating resources
standing by to deal with them.
Although
NB Power will not be involved in the Saint John Energy wind purchase
— it will have to deal with the rising and falling production of the
wind farm by filling in gaps in Saint John Energy's supply like it does
for all wind projects.
Robinson does not see that as a serious problem for NB Power.
The
Saint John project will reduce overall demand on NB Power's system
— which is a corporate goal of the provincial utility — and Saint John
Energy will continue to pay significant demand charges to NB Power, in
excess of $20 million per year, to reserve generation capacity for
itself for when the wind doesn't blow.
Robinson
said NB Power's recent purchase of the Bayside natural gas generating
station in Saint John should also help it better cope with the peaks and
valleys of its wind power responsibilities because natural gas
generators are more easily ramped up and down than oil and coal plants.
Either way, Robinson said Saint John Energy is committed to its wind project whether NB Power approves or not.
"I'm an advocate of getting more renewables on the system," said Robinson.
Robert
Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since
1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick
won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of
price regulation in 2006.
NB Power CEO's salary tops provincial government list
Province releases annual listing of government salaries
CBC News ·
NB Power CEO Gaëtan Thomas remained the highest paid provincial employee in the last fiscal year. (CBC)
More than 2,200 provincial
employees received salaries of $100,000 or more in the last fiscal year,
according to the New Brunswick 2017-18 blue book.
The
provincial government released the annual listing of government
salaries on Wednesday as well as retirement and severance packages, paid
out for the year ending March 31, 2018.
Once again, top public-sector earners fell under the umbrellas of NB Power and the departments of justice and health.
NB
Power CEO Gaëtan Thomas remained the highest-paid public servant in the
province with a salary range of $550,000 to $574,999. The unaudited
salary list provides pay ranges instead of the exact figure.
The
province's utility employed more than 1,140 workers receiving at least
$100,000 — that includes eight employees that make at least $250,000.
Besides
the utility, New Brunswick's two health networks and the Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development employed the highest numbers
of $100,000-and-up earners.
Horizon Health
Network and Vitalité Health Network employed more than 190 and 130
people, respectively, in that income bracket, and the top administrators
were among the highest-paid provincial employees.
Dr.
Édouard Hendriks, Horizon's vice-president of medical, academic and
research affairs, Dr. France Desrosiers, Vitalité's vice-president of
medical, services, training and research, and Vitalité CEO Gilles
Lanteigne made between $275,000 and $299,999.
Horizon CEO Karen McGrath was among the top earning
public-sector employees in New Brunswick for the year ending March 31,
2018. (CBC)
Horizon CEO Karen McGrath was one bracket lower, earning between $250,000 and $274,999.
The
Education Department had more than 180 employees who made at least
$100,000, the vast majority in the $100,000 to $124,999 range. Only
deputy ministers John McLaughlin and Gérald Richard earned more than
$175,000 (but less than $200,000).
The health
and justice departments combined to account for just 82 of the roughly
2,220 highest-earning public-sector workers in New Brunswick, but a
handful of those individuals are near the top of the list.
Éric Hébert accompagné du chef du PPC, Maxime Bernier.
Le Parti populaire du Canada de Maxime
Bernier a profité d'un passage à Québec pour présenter une partie de son
équipe dont Éric Hébert, qui convoite le siège de député dans la
circonscription Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
Gaspésien d'adoption, Éric Hébert est un géologue de formation.
Il possède un doctorat en ressources minérales de l'Université du Québec
à Chicoutimi. Ce dernier a décidé de s'installer en Gaspésie après ses
études, tout d'abord à Saint-Alphonse puis à Murdochville ensuite, où il
habite toujours. « Mon métier m'amène à voyager partout au Canada.
Actuellement, je travaille dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest. J'ai mes
revenus ailleurs mais je les dépense ici en Gaspésie », raconte-t-il.
Le candidat ne cache pas son intérêt pour tout ce qui touche à
l'environnement. Selon lui, contrairement à ce qui est véhiculé, il
existe plusieurs solutions pour lutter contre les problèmes actuels et
le Parti populaire du Canada est l'endroit idéal pour faire cheminer ces
idées. « J'ai choisi l'équipe de Maxime Bernier en raison de sa
flexibilité. Il favorise les débats et les idées et encourage la liberté
individuelle de s'exprimer. Il n'impose pas une ligne de parti. » Évacuer le discours de gauche
Éric Hébert croit qu'il est temps que la population entende un autre discours que celui véhiculé par la gauche. « Actuellement,
on parle de taxes sur le carbone, de restreindre les libertés des gens
et d'imposer des limites. Je prône davantage une approche où
l'environnement n'est pas un frein à l'économie. Il faut considérer
l'environnement comme une ressource et non comme un fardeau », ajoute-t-il.
Sur la question du pipeline, Éric Hébert estime qu'on fait fausse route en démonisant le pétrole de l'Alberta. « Lorsqu'on
importe du pétrole d'outre-mer, il n'y a aucune norme environnementale
contrairement aux entreprises d'Amérique du Nord qui investissent
beaucoup d'argent pour proposer des technologies plus vertes qui
réduisent les gaz à effet de serre. »
Sur un plan plus local, il estime que l'exploitation pétrolière en
Gaspésie est un non-enjeu puisque les entreprises sont loin de la coupe
aux lèvres. « Traditionnellement, en exploration minière, trouver un
gisement, c'est comme gagner la loterie. Ce n'est pas demain qu'on
verra un puits fonctionnel donc il ne faut pas partir en peur avec le
pétrole en Gaspésie. »
Quant au développement économique, le candidat prône une
non-intervention de l'État tout en évoquant que les méthodes gauchistes
radicales viennent restreindre le marché. « Pensons à la pêche. Il y
a moyen de cohabiter intelligemment avec la faune marine au lieu de
simplement imposer des interdictions pour certaines périodes. On peut
poursuivre la pêche sans nuire aux espèces marines. »
Éric Hébert sera d'ailleurs sur le terrain à temps plein à la fin de l'été pour aller à la rencontre des gens. « Je
mise sur des rencontres de qualité. Au lieu de faire du porte-à-porte à
coups de trente secondes, je préfère m'assoir avec des groupes de
citoyens et échanger avec eux. Par la suite, libre à eux de voter ou non
pour moi et de partager ma vision avec d'autres électeurs. »
Le portrait est donc pratiquement complet en Gaspésie et aux Îles
pour les élections du 21 octobre prochain. La députée sortante, Diane
Lebouthillier sollicitera un deuxième mandat pour le Parti libéral alors
que Jean-Pierre Pigeon tentera à nouveau sa chance avec le Parti
conservateur du Canada. Quant au maire de Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, il
portera les couleurs du Bloc québécois. Avec l'annonce de la
candidature d'Éric Hébert, il ne manque plus que le candidat
néo-démocrate à rejoindre la ligne de départ.
The People's Party of Canada Maxime Bernier took advantage of a visit to Quebec to present a part of his team including Eric Hébert, who coveted the seat of MP in the Gaspé-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine riding.
Adopted Gaspesian Éric Hébert is a geologist by training. He holds a PhD in mineral resources from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. The latter decided to settle in the Gaspé after his studies, first in Saint-Alphonse then in Murdochville then, where he still lives. "My job leads me to travel across Canada. Currently, I work in the Northwest Territories. I have my income elsewhere but I spend it here in Gaspésie, "he says.
The candidate does not hide his interest in everything related to the environment. According to him, contrary to what is conveyed, there are several solutions to fight against the current problems and the People's Party of Canada is the ideal place to make these ideas progress. "I chose Maxime Bernier's team because of its flexibility. It promotes debate and ideas and encourages individual freedom to express oneself. It does not impose a party line. "
Evacuate leftist discourse
Éric Hébert believes that it is time for the population to hear another speech than that conveyed by the left. "Currently, we are talking about carbon taxes, restricting people's freedoms and imposing limits. I advocate more of an approach where the environment is not a brake on the economy. We must consider the environment as a resource and not a burden, "he adds.
On the question of the pipeline, Éric Hébert believes that we are on the wrong track by demonizing Alberta's oil. "When you import oil from overseas, there are no environmental standards, unlike companies in North America that invest a lot of money to offer greener technologies that reduce greenhouse gases. "
On a more local level, he believes that oil exploitation in Gaspésie is a non-issue since companies are far from cutting lip. "Traditionally, in mineral exploration, finding a deposit is like winning the lottery. It is not tomorrow that we will see a functional well so we must not go scared with oil in Gaspésie. "
As for economic development, the candidate advocates non-intervention by the state while suggesting that radical leftist methods are restricting the market. "Let's think about fishing. It is possible to cohabit intelligently with the marine fauna instead of simply imposing prohibitions for certain periods. We can continue fishing without harming marine species. "
Éric Hébert will be on the field full time at the end of the summer to meet people. "I bet on quality meetings. Instead of going door-to-door in thirty seconds, I prefer to sit down with citizen groups and talk to them. Afterwards, free to vote for them and share my vision with other voters. "
The portrait is almost complete in Gaspésie and the Islands for the elections of October 21st. The outgoing MP Diane Lebouthillier will seek a second term for the Liberal Party while Jean-Pierre Pigeon will again try his luck with the Conservative Party of Canada. As for the mayor of Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, he will wear the colors of the Bloc Québécois. With the announcement of Éric Hébert's candidacy, all that's missing is the NDP candidate to join the starting line.
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