Concerned about future costs and obligations, Georgia officials want more information before they get involved in a plan to generate energy from wind turbines off the East Coast.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced early this month that it had reached an agreement with 10 East Coast governors to work together to develop wind turbines in the Atlantic.
South Carolina and Florida did not formally join the consortium, but the Interior Department said it was working with those states to promote offshore wind development.
Georgia officials said they're hesitant to get involved. The state wants details on the commitment of time, effort and money that would be required, said Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Brantley also said other forms of renewable energy hold more promise for Georgia. "If this was a solar consortium or a biomass consortium, we'd be the first ones to sign up," he said. "But it's not likely that wind is going to be Georgia's core strength in terms of energy."
Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia accused the state of being shortsighted.
"We have a source of energy off our coast — it's not going to spill, it's not going to ruin our coastline," she said.
Officials at the Interior Department said they would welcome Georgia into the consortium. They said there are no specific financial obligations associated with joining.
Chuck Mueller, senior policy adviser at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said other states may be more enthusiastic because they're ahead of Georgia in wind power development.
Valerie Hendrickson, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Southern Co., said the company is working on federal permit applications to set up wind research towers off Georgia.
Newfoundland and Labrador electricity rate hike examines a proposed 18.6% increase under the PUB's Rate Stabilization Plan, driven by oil prices at Holyrood, with Consumer Advocate concerns over rate shock and use of RSP balances.
Key Points
A proposed 18.6% July 2017 increase under the RSP, driven by oil prices, now under PUB review for potential mitigation.
✅ PUB flags potential rate shock from proposed adjustment
✅ RSP balances cited to offset increases without depleting fund
How much of a rate hike is reasonable for users of electricity in Newfoundland and Labrador?
That's a question before the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as it examines an application by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, which could see consumers pay up to 18.6 per cent more as of July 1, reflecting regional pressures seen in Nova Scotia, where regulators approved a 14% rate hike earlier this year.
"The estimated rate increase for July 2017 is such a significant increase that it may be argued that it would cause rate shock," said the PUB, asking the company to revise its application.
NL Hydro said the price adjustment is part of what happens every year through the Rate Stabilization Plan (RSP), which is used to offset the ups and downs of oil prices.
"The cost of fuel is volatile and as long as we rely on oil-fired generation at Holyrood, customers will continue to be impacted by this electricity price uncertainty," said the company in a statement to CBC News.
It noted that customers received a break from RSP adjustments in 2015 and 2016, even as costs from the Muskrat Falls project begin to be reflected.
The PUB noted that under the rate stabilization plan, prices have gone up or down by about 10 per cent in the past.
The regulatory board said the impact of the latest request would be a 27.6 per cent hike to Newfoundland Power, with "an estimated average end customer impact of 18.6 per cent."
Hydro's estimates are based on an average price for oil of $81.40 per barrel from July 2017 to June 2018, according to the PUB.
'Unacceptable' burden: Consumer Advocate
"To burden ratepayers with an 18 per cent rate increase is unacceptable," said Consumer Advocate Dennis Browne, echoing pushback in Nova Scotia, where the premier urged regulators to reject a 14% hike at the time.
Browne is arguing that there is money in the RSP to reduce the proposed increase, including the possibility of a lump-sum bill credit for customers.
"These ratepayer balances — which, according to NL Power, totals $77.4 million — are not the property of Hydro," he wrote in a letter to the PUB.
"No utility has the right to squirrel away ratepayers' money to be used by that utility for some future purpose. The Board has jurisdiction over those balances," Browne said.
Browne also wants the RSP overhauled so that it can be applied to price fluctuations every quarter, as opposed to annually.
Hydro has expressed concern that depleting the rate stabilization fund would lead to other, more significant, rate increases in the future.
It said several alternatives to mitigate high rates have been provided to the PUB, which has final say, similar to how Manitoba Hydro scaled back a planned increase in the next year.
ITER Nuclear Fusion advances tokamak magnetic confinement, heating deuterium-tritium plasma with superconducting magnets, targeting net energy gain, tritium breeding, and steam-turbine power, while complementing laser inertial confinement milestones for grid-scale electricity and 2025 startup goals.
Key Points
ITER Nuclear Fusion is a tokamak project confining D-T plasma with magnets to achieve net energy gain and clean power.
✅ Tokamak magnetic confinement with high-temp superconducting coils
✅ Deuterium-tritium fuel cycle with on-site tritium breeding
✅ Targets net energy gain and grid-scale, low-carbon electricity
It sounds like the stuff of dreams: a virtually limitless source of energy that doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or radioactive waste. That’s the promise of nuclear fusion, often described as the holy grail of clean energy by proponents, which for decades has been nothing more than a fantasy due to insurmountable technical challenges. But things are heating up in what has turned into a race to create what amounts to an artificial sun here on Earth, one that can provide power for our kettles, cars and light bulbs.
Today’s nuclear power plants create electricity through nuclear fission, in which atoms are split, with next-gen nuclear power exploring smaller, cheaper, safer designs that remain distinct from fusion. Nuclear fusion however, involves combining atomic nuclei to release energy. It’s the same reaction that’s taking place at the Sun’s core. But overcoming the natural repulsion between atomic nuclei and maintaining the right conditions for fusion to occur isn’t straightforward. And doing so in a way that produces more energy than the reaction consumes has been beyond the grasp of the finest minds in physics for decades.
But perhaps not for much longer. Some major technical challenges have been overcome in the past few years and governments around the world have been pouring money into fusion power research as part of a broader green industrial revolution under way in several regions. There are also over 20 private ventures in the UK, US, Europe, China and Australia vying to be the first to make fusion energy production a reality.
“People are saying, ‘If it really is the ultimate solution, let’s find out whether it works or not,’” says Dr Tim Luce, head of science and operation at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), being built in southeast France. ITER is the biggest throw of the fusion dice yet.
Its $22bn (£15.9bn) build cost is being met by the governments of two-thirds of the world’s population, including the EU, the US, China and Russia, at a time when Europe is losing nuclear power and needs energy, and when it’s fired up in 2025 it’ll be the world’s largest fusion reactor. If it works, ITER will transform fusion power from being the stuff of dreams into a viable energy source.
Constructing a nuclear fusion reactor ITER will be a tokamak reactor – thought to be the best hope for fusion power. Inside a tokamak, a gas, often a hydrogen isotope called deuterium, is subjected to intense heat and pressure, forcing electrons out of the atoms. This creates a plasma – a superheated, ionised gas – that has to be contained by intense magnetic fields.
The containment is vital, as no material on Earth could withstand the intense heat (100,000,000°C and above) that the plasma has to reach so that fusion can begin. It’s close to 10 times the heat at the Sun’s core, and temperatures like that are needed in a tokamak because the gravitational pressure within the Sun can’t be recreated.
When atomic nuclei do start to fuse, vast amounts of energy are released. While the experimental reactors currently in operation release that energy as heat, in a fusion reactor power plant, the heat would be used to produce steam that would drive turbines to generate electricity, even as some envision nuclear beyond electricity for industrial heat and fuels.
Tokamaks aren’t the only fusion reactors being tried. Another type of reactor uses lasers to heat and compress a hydrogen fuel to initiate fusion. In August 2021, one such device at the National Ignition Facility, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, generated 1.35 megajoules of energy. This record-breaking figure brings fusion power a step closer to net energy gain, but most hopes are still pinned on tokamak reactors rather than lasers.
In June 2021, China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor maintained a plasma for 101 seconds at 120,000,000°C. Before that, the record was 20 seconds. Ultimately, a fusion reactor would need to sustain the plasma indefinitely – or at least for eight-hour ‘pulses’ during periods of peak electricity demand.
A real game-changer for tokamaks has been the magnets used to produce the magnetic field. “We know how to make magnets that generate a very high magnetic field from copper or other kinds of metal, but you would pay a fortune for the electricity. It wouldn’t be a net energy gain from the plant,” says Luce.
One route for nuclear fusion is to use atoms of deuterium and tritium, both isotopes of hydrogen. They fuse under incredible heat and pressure, and the resulting products release energy as heat
The solution is to use high-temperature, superconducting magnets made from superconducting wire, or ‘tape’, that has no electrical resistance. These magnets can create intense magnetic fields and don’t lose energy as heat.
“High temperature superconductivity has been known about for 35 years. But the manufacturing capability to make tape in the lengths that would be required to make a reasonable fusion coil has just recently been developed,” says Luce. One of ITER’s magnets, the central solenoid, will produce a field of 13 tesla – 280,000 times Earth’s magnetic field.
The inner walls of ITER’s vacuum vessel, where the fusion will occur, will be lined with beryllium, a metal that won’t contaminate the plasma much if they touch. At the bottom is the divertor that will keep the temperature inside the reactor under control.
“The heat load on the divertor can be as large as in a rocket nozzle,” says Luce. “Rocket nozzles work because you can get into orbit within minutes and in space it’s really cold.” In a fusion reactor, a divertor would need to withstand this heat indefinitely and at ITER they’ll be testing one made out of tungsten.
Meanwhile, in the US, the National Spherical Torus Experiment – Upgrade (NSTX-U) fusion reactor will be fired up in the autumn of 2022, while efforts in advanced fission such as a mini-reactor design are also progressing. One of its priorities will be to see whether lining the reactor with lithium helps to keep the plasma stable.
Choosing a fuel Instead of just using deuterium as the fusion fuel, ITER will use deuterium mixed with tritium, another hydrogen isotope. The deuterium-tritium blend offers the best chance of getting significantly more power out than is put in. Proponents of fusion power say one reason the technology is safe is that the fuel needs to be constantly fed into the reactor to keep fusion happening, making a runaway reaction impossible.
Deuterium can be extracted from seawater, so there’s a virtually limitless supply of it. But only 20kg of tritium are thought to exist worldwide, so fusion power plants will have to produce it (ITER will develop technology to ‘breed’ tritium). While some radioactive waste will be produced in a fusion plant, it’ll have a lifetime of around 100 years, rather than the thousands of years from fission.
At the time of writing in September, researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor in Oxfordshire were due to start their deuterium-tritium fusion reactions. “JET will help ITER prepare a choice of machine parameters to optimise the fusion power,” says Dr Joelle Mailloux, one of the scientific programme leaders at JET. These parameters will include finding the best combination of deuterium and tritium, and establishing how the current is increased in the magnets before fusion starts.
The groundwork laid down at JET should accelerate ITER’s efforts to accomplish net energy gain. ITER will produce ‘first plasma’ in December 2025 and be cranked up to full power over the following decade. Its plasma temperature will reach 150,000,000°C and its target is to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power for every 50 megawatts of input heating power.
“If ITER is successful, it’ll eliminate most, if not all, doubts about the science and liberate money for technology development,” says Luce. That technology development will be demonstration fusion power plants that actually produce electricity, where advanced reactors can build on decades of expertise. “ITER is opening the door and saying, yeah, this works – the science is there.”
Ontario Electricity Rates update: OEB sets time-of-use and tiered pricing for residential customers, with kWh charges for peak, mid-peak, and off-peak periods reflecting COVID-19 impacts on demand, supply costs, and pricing.
Key Points
Ontario Electricity Rates are OEB-set time-of-use and tiered prices that set per-kWh costs for residential customers.
✅ Tiered: 12.6 cents/kWh up to 1000 kWh, then 14.6 cents/kWh
✅ Average 700 kWh home pays about $2.24 more per month
Energy bills for the typical Ontario home are going up by about two per cent with fixed pricing coming to an end on Nov. 1, the Ontario Energy Board says.
The province's electricity regulator has released new time-of-use pricing and says the rate for the average residential customer using 700 kWh per month will increase by about $2.24.
The change comes as Ontario stretches into its eight month of the COVID-19 pandemic with new case counts reaching levels higher than ever seen before.
Time-of-use pricing had been scrapped for residential bills for much for the pandemic with a single fixed COVID-19 hydro rate set for all hours of the day. The move, which came into effect June 1, was meant "to support families, small business and farms while Ontario plans for the safe and gradual reopening of the province," the OEB said at the time.
Fixed pricing meant customers' bills reflected how much power they used, rather than when they used it. Customers were charged 12.8 cents/kWh under the COVID-19 recovery rate no matter their time of use.
Beginning November, the province says customers can choose between time-of-use and tiered pricing options. Rates for time-of-use plans will be 21.7 cents/kWh during peak hours, 15 cents/kWh for mid-peak use and 10.5 cents/kWh for off-peak use.
Customers choosing tiered pricing will pay 12.6 cents/kWh for the first 1000 kWh each month and then 14.6 cents/kWh for any power used beyond that.
The energy board says the increase in pricing reflects "a combination of factors, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, that have affected demand, supply costs and prices in the summer and fall of 2020."
Asked for his reaction to the move Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford said, "I hate it," adding the province inherited an energy "mess" from the previous Liberal government and are "chipping away at it."
Greengen Misfeasance Ruling details a B.C. Supreme Court decision awarding $10.125 million over wrongfully denied Crown land and water licence permits for a Fries Creek run-of-river hydro project under a BC Hydro contract.
Key Points
A B.C. Supreme Court ruling awarding $10.125M for wrongful denial of Crown land and water licences on Greengen's project.
✅ $10.125M damages for misfeasance in public office
✅ Denial of Crown land tenure and water licence permits
✅ Tied to Fries Creek run-of-river and BC Hydro EPA
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered the provincial government to pay $10.125 million after it denied permits to a company that wanted to build a run-of-the river independent power project near Squamish.
In his Oct. 10 decision, Justice Kevin Loo said the plaintiff, Greengen Holdings Ltd., “lost an opportunity to achieve a completed and profitable hydro-electric project” after government representatives wrongfully exercised their legal authority, a transgression described in the ruling as “misfeasance,” with separate concerns reflected in an Ontario market gaming investigation reported elsewhere.
Between 2003 and 2009, the company sought to develop a hydro-electric project on and around Fries Creek, which sits opposite the Brackendale neighbourhood on the other side of the Squamish River. To do so, Greengen Holdings Ltd. required a water licence from the Minister of the Environment and tenure over Crown land from the Minister of Agriculture.
After a lengthy process involving extensive communications between Greengen and various provincial and other ministries and regulatory agencies, the permits were denied, according to Loo. Both decisions cited impacts on Squamish Nation cultural sites that could not be mitigated.
40-year electricity plan relied on Crown land The case dates back to December 2005, when BC Hydro issued an open call for power with Greengen. The company submitted a tender several months later.
On July 26, 2006, BC Hydro awarded Greengen an energy purchase agreement, amid evolving LNG electricity demand across the province, under which Greengen would be entitled to supply electricity at a fixed price for 40 years.
Unlike conventional hydroelectric projects, such as new BC generating stations recently commissioned, which store large volumes of water in reservoirs, and in so doing flood large tracts of land, a run of the river project often requires little or no water storage. Instead, from a high elevation, they divert water from a stream or river channel.
Water is then sent into a pressured pipeline known as a penstock, and later passed through turbines to generate electricity, Loo explained, as utilities pursue long-term plans like the Hydro-Québec strategy to reduce fossil fuel reliance. The system returns water to the original stream or river, or into another body of water.
The project called for most of that infrastructure to be built on Crown land, according to the ruling.
All sides seemed to support the project In early 2005, company principle Terry Sonderhoff discussed the Fries Creek project in a preliminary meeting with Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell.
“Mr. Sonderhoff testified that Chief Campbell seemed supportive of the project at the time,” Loo said.
Ontario Starlink Contract Cancellation underscores rising tariffs, trade tensions, and retaliation, as SpaceX's Elon Musk loses a rural broadband deal; Ontario pivots to procurement bans, energy resilience, and nuclear power to boost grid independence.
Key Points
Ontario ended a C$100M Starlink deal over U.S. tariffs, prompting a shift to rural broadband alternatives.
✅ Triggered by U.S. tariffs; Ontario adopts retaliatory procurement bans.
✅ Ends plan to connect 15,000 rural homes and businesses with broadband.
✅ Signals push for energy resilience, nuclear power, and grid independence.
In a decisive move, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the cancellation of a C$100 million contract with Elon Musk's Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, in direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports. This action underscores the escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States, a theme highlighted during Ford's Washington meeting on energy tariffs earlier this month, and highlights Ontario's efforts to safeguard its economic interests.
The now-terminated agreement, established in November, aimed to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 homes and businesses in Ontario's remote areas. Premier Ford's decision to "rip up" the contract signifies a broader strategy to distance the province from U.S.-based companies amid the current trade dispute. He emphasized, "Ontario won't do business with people hell-bent on destroying our economy."
This move is part of a series of retaliatory measures by Canadian provinces, including Ford's threat to cut electricity exports to the U.S., following President Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian imports, excluding oil, which faces a 10% surcharge. These tariffs, set to take effect imminently, have prompted concerns about potential economic downturns in Canada. In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that Canada would impose 25% tariffs on C$155 billion worth of U.S. goods, aiming to exert pressure on the U.S. administration to reconsider its stance.
Premier Ford's actions reflect a broader sentiment of economic nationalism, as he also announced a ban on American companies from provincial contracts until the U.S. tariffs are lifted. He highlighted that Ontario's government and its agencies allocate $30 billion annually on procurement, and reiterated his earlier vow to fire the Hydro One CEO and board as part of broader reforms aimed at efficiency.
The cancellation of the Starlink contract raises concerns about the future of internet connectivity in Ontario's rural regions. The original deal with Starlink was seen as a significant step toward bridging the digital divide, offering high-speed internet to underserved communities. With the contract's termination, the province faces the challenge of identifying alternative solutions to fulfill this critical need.
Beyond the immediate implications of the Starlink contract cancellation, Ontario is confronting broader challenges in ensuring the resilience and independence of its energy infrastructure. The province's reliance on external entities for critical services, such as internet connectivity and energy, has come under scrutiny, as Canada's electricity exports are at risk amid ongoing trade tensions and policy uncertainty.
Premier Ford has expressed a commitment to expanding Ontario's capacity to generate nuclear power as a means to bolster energy self-sufficiency. While this strategy aims to reduce dependence on external energy sources, it presents its own set of challenges that critics argue require cleaning up Ontario's hydro mess before new commitments proceed. Developing nuclear infrastructure requires substantial investment, rigorous safety protocols, and long-term planning. Moreover, the integration of nuclear power into the province's energy mix necessitates careful consideration of environmental impacts and public acceptance.
The concept of "Trump-proofing" Ontario's electricity grid involves creating a robust and self-reliant energy system capable of withstanding external political and economic pressures. Achieving this goal entails diversifying energy sources, including building on Ontario's electricity deal with Quebec to strengthen interties, investing in renewable energy technologies, and enhancing grid infrastructure to ensure stability and resilience.
However, the path to energy independence is fraught with complexities. Balancing the immediate need for reliable energy with long-term sustainability goals requires nuanced policy decisions, including Ontario's Supreme Court challenge to the global adjustment fee and related regulatory reviews to clarify cost impacts. Additionally, fostering collaboration between government entities, private sector stakeholders, and the public is essential to navigate the multifaceted challenges associated with overhauling the province's energy framework.
Ontario's recent actions, including the cancellation of the Starlink contract, underscore the province's proactive stance in safeguarding its economic and infrastructural interests amid evolving geopolitical dynamics. While such measures reflect a commitment to self-reliance, they also highlight the intricate challenges inherent in reducing dependence on external entities. As Ontario charts its course toward a more autonomous future, strategic planning, investment in sustainable technologies, and collaborative policymaking will be pivotal in achieving long-term resilience and prosperity.
Canadian Clean Hydrogen is surging, driven by net-zero goals, tax credits, and exports. Fuel cells, electrolysis, and low-emissions power and transport signal growth, though current production is largely fossil-based and needs decarbonization.
Key Points
Canadian Clean Hydrogen is the shift to make and use low-emissions hydrogen for energy and industry to reach net-zero.
✅ $17B tax credits through 2035 to scale electrolyzers and hubs
✅ Export MOUs with Germany and the Netherlands target 2025 shipments
✅ IEA: 99% of hydrogen from fossil fuels; deep decarbonization needed
As the world races to find effective climate solutions, and toward an electric planet vision, hydrogen is earning buzz as a potentially low-emitting alternative fuel source.
The promise of hydrogen as a clean fuel source is nothing new — as far back as the 1970s hydrogen was being promised as a "potential pollution-free fuel for our cars."
While hydrogen hasn't yet taken off as the fuel of the future — a 2023 report from McKinsey & Company and the Hydrogen Council estimates that there is a grand total of eight hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations in Canada — many still hope that will change.
The hope is hydrogen will play a significant role in combating climate change, serving as a low-emissions substitute for fossil fuels in power generation, home heating and transportation, where cleaning up electricity remains critical, and today, interest in a Canadian clean hydrogen industry may be starting to bubble over.
"People are super excited about hydrogen because of the opportunity to use it as a clean chemical fuel. So, as a displacement for natural gas, diesel, gasoline, jet fuel," said Andrew Gillis, CEO of Canadian hydrogen company Aurora Hydrogen.
Plans for low or zero-emissions hydrogen projects are beginning to take shape across the country. But, at the moment, hydrogen is far from a low-emissions fuel, which is why some experts suggest expectations for the resource should be tempered.
The IEA report indicates that in 2021, global hydrogen production emitted 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — roughly 180 million more than the aviation industry — as roughly 99 per cent of hydrogen production came from fossil fuel sources.
"There is a concern that the role of hydrogen in the process of decarbonization is being very greatly overstated," said Mark Winfield, professor of environmental and urban change at York University.
A growing excitement
In 2020, the government released a hydrogen strategy, aiming to "cement hydrogen as a tool to achieve our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and position Canada as a global, industrial leader of clean renewable fuels."
The latest budget includes over $17 billion in tax credits between now and 2035 to help fund clean hydrogen projects.
Today, the most common application for hydrogen in Canada is as a material in industrial activities such as oil refining and ammonia, methanol and steel production, according to Natural Resources Canada.
But, the buzz around hydrogen isn't exactly over its industrial applications, said Aurora Hydrogen's Gillis.
"All these sorts of things where we currently have emitting gaseous or liquid chemical fuels, hydrogen's an opportunity to replace those and access the energy without creating emissions at the point of us," Gillis said.
When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen can produce electricity for transportation, heating and power generation without producing common harmful emissions like nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter — BloombergNEF estimates that hydrogen could meet 24 per cent of global energy demand by 2050.
A growing industry
Canada's hydrogen strategy aims to have 30 per cent of end-use energy be from clean hydrogen by 2050. According to the strategy, Canada produces an estimated three million tonnes of hydrogen per year from natural gas today, but the strategy doesn't indicate how much hydrogen is produced from low-emissions sources.
In recent years, the Canadian clean hydrogen industry has earned international interest, especially as Germany's hydrogen strategy anticipates significant imports.
In 2021, Canada signed a memorandum of understanding with the Netherlands to help develop "export-import corridors for clean hydrogen" between the two countries. Canada also recently inked a deal with Germany to start exporting the resource there by 2025.
But while a low-emissions hydrogen plant went online in Becancour, Que., in 2021, the rest of Canada's clean-hydrogen industry seems to be in the early stages.
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