Wind energy capacity near maximum

Grid can’t handle load, committee told

By BILL POWER Business Reporter, Chronicle Herald

It could be a long time before more wind turbines begin to occupy significant space in Nova Scotia skylines.

The government’s standing committee on economic development heard Tuesday that there are serious constraints to the amount of renewable energy the province’s energy grid can handle — especially when it comes to wind.

"We are constrained technically by the amount of renewable energy that we can safely integrate into the existing system without significant enhancements," said Alison Scott, deputy minister of energy .

She also rejected the rush toward de-regulation that is occurring in Ontario and Alberta, and said resulting feed-in tariffs in these jurisdictions continue to drive up the price of electricity for consumers in these areas.

"Our scan of the situation in Alberta and Ontario shows us deregulation led to price hikes, which resulted in government subsidies to consumers," she told members of the legislative committee.

Despite talk about renewable energy and the highly-anticipated role of wind power as the province implements its green energy plan, the reality is the energy grid will basically reach its maximum load by 2013, said the deputy minister of energy. "We have an operational challenge in integrating large amounts of wind power in Nova Scotia," said Ms. Scott.

Besides the inability of the existing energy grid to handle increased loads, there is a problem with wind power relating to backstopping, which is the ability of an energy system to quickly respond when wind-powered feeds fail due to weather conditions.

She suggested it would make little sense for ratepayers for the government to encourage more expensive feeds from renewable energy sources without having the capacity to provide the required backstopping.

Unlike the stilted appearance two weeks ago of Deputy Finance Minister Vicki Harnish, the economic development committee received a high-amperage presentation from the top bureaucrat at the energy department.

Ms. Scott said under questioning that the energy department is looking at ways of helping some viable renewable energy projects move ahead, but added that since the government was looking at the issue she was limited in what she could say.

"What we do know is that there are challenges to any options, including using existing programs such as the Industrial Expansion Fund," she said.

Last month, Energy Minister Berry Barnet said the government will review rules that prevent Nova Scotia Power from investing in wind power companies.

Some committee members said this move will handicap independent energy producers, who would have to compete with the utility on renewable energy projects if the restriction against NSP is removed.

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