Power to the People

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro will seek input from the people of Labrador West on the Lower Churchill project this week.

A team will be on hand at the Arts and Culture Centre in Labrador City Tuesday afternoon in an open house forum to describe the proposed Lower Churchill project and the ongoing preparations.

Gilbert Bennett is hoping many people will take advantage of the opportunity to avail of information and to put forward concerns or questions to the panel.

We have already had public consultations in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Churchill Falls and North West River and now we are bringing the same here to Labrador West, the vice-president of the Lower Churchill Project explained. We feel these sessions are very important to the process as we welcome the opportunity to explain what has happened so far and what is planned.

Gull Island and Muskrat Falls

The existing generating station in Churchill Falls takes in 65 per cent of the generating potential of the Churchill River. The remaining 35 per cent is located at Gull Island and Muskrat Fallsthe two sites of the Lower Churchill development.

Both sites combined have the potential to generate enough energy to accommodate 1.5 million households. Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a crown corporation, will lead the development.

Currently an environmental assessment is underway.

Most of the field studies have been completed and we have collected a lot of data we can share, said Bennett. We are expected to have a full Environmental Impact Statement done later this year.

Most of the concerns, he has heard in previous public forums, have been around the footprint such a huge project will leave on the land.

That is important for many people, he noted. So, we are eager to answer any questions people have on that.

Flooding

Reservoir flooding is often an environmental concern but because of the existing reservoir at Churchill Falls and the narrow Churchill River Valley, the Lower Churchill will benefit.

The total flooded area for the Lower Churchill will be 120 square kilometres (approx.)a significantly lower amount in comparison to the 2,500 square kilometres flooded in creating the Churchill Falls reservoir.

Construction

The construction stage, projected to last 10 years, will begin in 2009. Bennett explained approximately 2,000 people, in various skill sets, will be employed in this stage.

Gull Island is first on the construction list with Muskrat Falls to follow three years laterwith the 2015 projected to send the energy to market.

Bennett says he is quite aware of the problems of finding skilled workers here in the province.

We know that it might be difficult to find these workers and maybe this will be an opportunity to bring back the people we lost to Alberta, he said. Yes, we know it will be challenging and that is why we are very involved in the skills task force.

Market access options

Options to transport the product to market are also still under consideration, he says.

We are still considering a Maritime submarine route and transmission through Hydro-Quebecs transmission line. We have been talking to Hydro-Quebec but we havent come to any decision yet.

Transmission service requests have been submitted to Hydro Quebec and the New Brunswick System Operator under Open Access Transmission Tariffs (OATT) in Quebec and New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick request involves two delivery points via the Hydro-Quebec system and the sub-sea HVDC (high voltage direct cable) system. Hydro is studying the possibility of a HVDC sub-sea system from Labrador to the island portion of the province and then into New Brunswick.

A request for an interconnection assessment to Ontario has also been made with Hydro Quebec as the transmission provider. The target market is Ontario, New Brunswick, New York, and New England.

Under the provider New Brunswick System Operator the market is New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and New England.

With Ontario Independent System Operator providing the transmission, the market is Ontario.

Exciting time

As the preparations wind down for the mega project, the times are exciting Bennett says. The project with a price tag of $6 to $9 billion and a province planning on going it alone will have long-term benefits that will be immeasurable.

Renewable, clean energy and spin-offs in Labradors and the provinces economy are the great promises the Lower Churchill has to offer.



editor@theaurora.ca