Author Archives: energyprbe

There are so many good things that can be said about the proposed Quebec-Newfoundland hydroelectric mega-project on Labrador’s Churchill River that it seems almost churlish to point out that it seems to make no economic or environmental sense.

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CHURCHILL FALLS — A new hydroelectric project in Labrador would be “economic craziness” for the Newfoundland and Quebec governments, as well as for Ottawa which is being asked to provide up to $2 billion, says a national energy watchdog.

“This deal has the makings of a major financial mistake,” said Tom Adams of Energy Probe, a consumer and environmental lobby group.

“It will be generating high-cost power at a time when we are coming into a glut of low-cost power.”

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Churchill Falls II might not be Great Whale, but Hydro-Quebec faces some familiar skepticism over its calculations of `no-risk’ power generation

Job-hungry politicians. Angry Indians. Worried environmentalists. The cast of characters was all too familiar this week as Quebec and Newfoundland announced a $9.7-billion hydroelectric megaproject on the Churchill River.

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Bernard Landry, Quebec Premier, is showing some serious interest in a $4 billion hydro project on the Lower Churchill River. Talks between the two provinces are still in the early stages, but there is more optimism a deal can be reached than ever before.

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HALIFAX — The Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland said yesterday they had reached an informal agreement on developing a massive hydro-electric project at Gull Island in the remote Labrador region of eastern Canada.

Speaking at the annual premiers conference in Halifax, Quebec Premier Bernard Landry and Newfoundland Premier Roger Grimes told reporters that the deal was a prelude to any formal agreement that may be reached between the two provinces. The estimated cost of the dam and transmission lines in Labrador could reach C$4 billion ($2.5 billion). Continue reading →

Montreal: Ontario Premier-elect Dalton McGuinty and Jean Charest agreed Monday to try to resuscitate a long-delayed transmission line between Ontario and Quebec.

The transmission line, which was first talked about in 1999, would bring about 1,200 megawatts of electricity into Ontario.

Ontario’s Hydro One was supposed to have it built by last year, but the project was put on hold.

McGuinty, who was elected earlier this month, hasn’t given up on it.

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On a steamy Thursday evening last August, traffic on the bridges spanning the Ottawa River was molasses-thick. This situation was not the result of one of those occasional political exoduses to which Canadians have become accustomed over the years. Rather, this time, the cars were headed in the other direction.

You see, Quebec had power. Ontario didn’t.

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St. John’s, Newfoundland: The president of the Canadian Electricity Association says the time is right for the federal government to help with a hydroelectric project on the lower Churchill River.

Hans Konow says the government has a daunting task in trying to meet the strict terms of the Kyoto environmental protocol.

Federal help would make it a lot more feasible to transmit Labrador hydro power across central Canada.

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Danny Williams says he’s sorry if he offended anyone when he described Quebec’s political climate as "volatile," but the outspoken Newfoundland premier refused to retract the remarks, saying the blunt assessment was "reality."

"It is not my intention to offend the people of Quebec under any circumstances," Williams said Thursday. "If I have offended them in any way, absolutely, I’d be sorry for it – but acknowledging as well though that I was stating reality."

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