Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Expert touts Churchill Falls, Point Lepreau power projects


Atlantic Canada should push ahead with the $6.5-billion Lower Churchill Falls hydroelectric project in Newfoundland and a second nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau in New Brunswick, a U.S. energy expert said Tuesday.

Roger Gale, chief executive of GF Energy of Washington, D.C., made the comment the day before he was to be the keynote speaker at a closed-door meeting in Halifax that will discuss the region’s energy future.

Today’s meeting is sponsored by the Association of Atlantic Universities. About 35 invited guests are expected to attend.

Any new electricity-producing projects must be done in an environmentally clean way, Gale said.

The Lower Churchill, which is still years away from producing power, and a second nuclear reactor in New Brunswick are the "best ways" to make electricity and over the life of the projects, they are probably the "cheapest ways" to make power, he said.

Gale said there is a "huge transformation" underway in North America on how consumers use electricity.

"We are going to have electric vehicles; that means at night, when we don’t have much electricity demand, we can charge and store electricity, which we have never been able to do before," he said.

Scheduled to attend the one-day meeting at The Citadel are Nova Scotia Power president Rob Bennett and Stan Marshall, president of Fortis Inc. of St. John’s, N.L.

Also expected to attend are Atlantic Provinces Economic Council president Elizabeth Beale, St. Mary’s University president Colin Dodds and Scott Travers of Minas Basin Pulp and Power Co. Ltd.

Peter Halpin said this is the second Atlantic Leaders’ Summit hosted by the association, which represents 17 institutions.

"This is a way to get a very open discussion about issues and opportunities that are critical to the region," Halpin, the association’s executive director said.


http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1205585.html

1 comment:

Danielle Owen said...

Grateful for shariing this