East-West Transmission Grid Would Provide Reliable, Clean Energy

East-West Transmission Grid Would Provide Reliable, Clean Energy: Ministers

Sep 30 - Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) - Transmitting electricity from Manitoba to Ontario along a proposed east-west power grid would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide jobs and other economic spinoffs, the governments of the two provinces said Thursday.

"There are lots of links in the United States east and west, but in Canada the lines all run south," Manitoba Energy Minister Tim Sale said at the release of a $2-million feasibility study on the project.

"We've built a national highway system, we've built a national railway system, we built the seaway. . . . The only highway we don't have in this country is a highway for electricity."

The Clean Energy Transfer Initiative would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by seven million tonnes, provide $1.6 billion in tax revenues and create jobs nationwide, the preliminary report states.

Manitoba currently sells hydroelectric power to Minnesota, but its proposed $5-billion Conawapa hydro project - one of eight potential Manitoba hydro sites - would support the national east-west power grid.

If a power sale were to be established, Manitoba's 5,000 megawatt hydro source would flow from northern Manitoba to energy-starved southern Ontario. The cost isn't yet known.

Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan lauded the project, saying it would create economic opportunities, particularly in northern and First Nations communities.

"The next phase of this project will include detailed engineering and cost analyses, further discussions with First Nations, as well as a more detailed analysis of overall project economics," Duncan said.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer pitched his vision of a national power grid at a speech to the Empire Club of Canada earlier Thursday, saying the Conawapa project can't be ignored.

"If we built a 1,500-megawatt dam in Manitoba and had the transmission capacity to replace coal-generated energy, it would be the equivalent of reducing the number of cars on the street of Toronto by 500,000," Doer said.

"I can't do anything about the traffic jams but I can do something about emissions."

He said the project would help solve Ontario's long-term energy woes.

"In Ontario, you have a gap of 25,000 megawatts that must be filled by 2020," Doer said. "I believe the gap should be filled with a basket of renewable energy and a basket of traditional energy."

Without an east-west transmission grid, Ontario's energy reliability will continue to be at risk as hydro-rich provinces such as Manitoba have little choice but to sell power south of the border, Doer warned earlier.

Securing a power deal with Ontario would enable Manitoba to start construction on Conawapa, a 1,250-megawatt dam on the Nelson River that could power about one million homes in Ontario.

But critics say a national east-west grid is impractical because electricity can't be shipped efficiently over long distances, while others are concerned with the environmental impact of the Conawapa project.

Instead of being stuck in an "age of big dams," governments should focus more on efficiency and renewable sources, said Dan McDermott of the Sierra Club of Canada.

The transmission lines would run from northern Manitoba to Sudbury or Thunder Bay in Ontario. Another possibility is lines running from northern Manitoba to Winnipeg, then to the Ontario cities.

The dam would take almost a decade to build and would be the second biggest in Manitoba, behind Limestone dam at 1,340 megawatts.

The initial Conawapa power deal with Ontario fell through 13 years ago, but negotiations resumed after the province was hit by a massive blackout last year.

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