Costs stall PEI energy projects
Six companies made submissions in February to build the projects, mostly for wind development. They were assessed by Maritime Electric, the province's main electricity supplier.
Energy Minister Richard Brown announced in the legislature they've all been rejected because the electricity costs were too high.
"We have a wind farm on Prince Edward Island. We know what [cost] we can produce wind for," said Brown.
"Maritime Electric analyzed the bids and, with the current prices that were in them and with the transmission costs and the additional costs that we would have to put in place in terms of infrastructure, the pricing wasn't good enough for Islanders."
Energy critic Mike Currie doesn't understand why a private company should have the power to evaluate energy projects for the province.
"I think that Maritime Electric just doesn't want to do any more wind projects on Prince Edward Island," said Currie. "Why the minister has made them part of the evaluation process is beyond me."
The plan was to sell 30 megawatts on PEI and export the rest.
It's possible that could still happen. The companies have been given 30 days to fine-tune their proposals and resubmit them.
Related News
Why Canada should invest in "macrogrids" for greener, more reliable electricity
OTTAWA - As the recent disaster in Texas showed, climate change requires electricity utilities to prepare for extreme events. This “global weirding” leads to more intense storms, higher wind speeds, heatwaves and droughts that can threaten the performance of electricity systems.
The electricity sector must adapt to this changing climate while also playing a central role in mitigating climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced a number of ways, but the electricity sector is expected to play a central role in decarbonization. Zero-emissions electricity can be used to electrify transportation, heating and industry and help achieve emissions reduction in…
