Dueling figures on Talston
Minister says exporting power only way to lower territory's power rates; new report calls on government to focus on renewable energy 'micro-grids'
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Monday, October 31, 2016
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A report by the territory's former finance minister suggests an expansion of the Taltson dam with a link to southern Canada could cost up to $2.2 billion, more than double the territorial government's estimate.
Michael Miltenberger, who lost a bid for a sixth term in the legislative assembly during last year's territorial election, co-authored a report titled The Northern Way, which calls on the government to focus on what's described as "micro-grids" using renewable energy generation such as wind and solar instead of a hydro mega-projects such as Taltson.
The estimate comes as the territorial government explores the potential to expand Taltson and build transmission lines south to sell excess power.
Louis Sebert, the minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation and the MLA who defeated Miltenberger last year, said the project is perhaps the only way to reduce power rates in the territory.
"We are looking at this project because, unless we have a massive population increase here, the only way to reduce costs in the long-term is to export (power)," Sebert said in the legislative assembly Oct. 28.
Sebert said in March that Taltson could be expanded from 18 megawatts to 200 megawatts at a cost of $500 million to $1 billion.
The dam powers Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Resolution and Enterprise, although the capacity now is more than what's needed to power those communities.
Wally Schumann, the territory's minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment as well as public works, said Taltson would give the territory revenue from the sale of power "right off the bat," and help Saskatchewan reduce its emissions.
Schumann disputed the cost estimates in The Northern Way report during an interview.
"(The cost) all depends on the type of project we build, how we build it and where it goes," Schumann said.
The report's estimate is based on the cost per watt to construct dams and transmission lines in similar terrain, Muskrat Falls in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Three of the four examples used to calculate the figure are much larger than what's being considered at Taltson and a different type
of dam.
Muskrat Falls has become a boondoggle, ballooning in cost from $4 billion to $11.4 billion and is expected to cause power rates in
that province to increase.
The total cost estimate isn't the only figure questioned by the report. Using GNWT figures, it estimates the transmission link to Uranium City in the northern part of Saskatchewan could cost up to $500 million.
That's $300 million more than the Northwest Territories Power Corporation estimated it could cost, according to a 2015 report by the Canadian Senate.
While Sebert told the assembly in March the idea would be to have Saskatchewan pay a "considerable" portion of the expansion and link cost, Schumann said there's no agreement in place yet and talks with the province are at a very early stage.
The territory's spending on major infrastructure is limited by the federally imposed borrowing limit of $1.3 billion.
Increases to allow the GNWT to take on more debt require federal approval. The last increase - from $800 million - came in 2015.
In recent weeks, MP Michael McLeod has suggested Taltson could be a potential green energy project as the federal government spends billions on infrastructure and imposes a carbon tax to push reductions in emissions.
The report co-authored by Miltenberger, Jack VanCamp and Merrell-Ann Phare states a Taltson expansion may not be in place soon enough to meet targets of the Paris climate accord.
It also questions how the costly project would benefit diesel-dependent communities, since the power would be sold south.
"This huge capital outlay would do nothing to relieve the dependency on diesel - or reduce greenhouse gas emissions - in the thermal communities and the mines for the next decade or longer," the report states.
Instead, the report authors urge the government to focus its spending on developing "micro-grid" systems based on renewable energy such as wind and solar to reduce diesel consumption.
The report pointed to Colville Lake's recent solar project as an example to follow.
Schumann said a range of options for addressing the power issue will be considered as the territorial government develops a 10-year energy strategy.
The first of several public meetings to gather input for the strategy was held in Fort Simpson last week.
Meetings will be held Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 in Inuvik, Nov. 15-16 in Norman Wells, Nov. 22-23 in Fort Smith and Dec. 5-6 in Yellowknife.
