DRAYTON VALLEY — The Pembina Institute is one of several groups that will be asking the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) to reject EPCOR's application for a 450-megawatt expansion of its Genesee power plant, west of Edmonton. Tom Marr-Laing, Director of the Pembina Institute's Energy Watch Program, gave two important reasons for this request.
"Firstly, current proposals for new gas plants, along with investments in renewables and energy efficiency will meet domestic demand for at least 12 years, and maybe more than 20 years, depending on the growth rate in Alberta. This will allow time for the possibility of major improvements in coal-fired technology to justify the use of coal," said Marr-Laing. "Secondly, EPCOR's proposal does not incorporate best available current technology and does not meet minimum standards comparable to those required in the United States."
The Pembina Institute believes Alberta should pay more attention to developing renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures, as is now being done in the U.S. The Institute's submission to the EUB uses information from Alberta Energy and from the Transmission Administrator to show that Alberta will have a considerable surplus of electricity if all planned projects proceed. Many proposals are for electricity from natural gas or co-generation projects, which are significantly cleaner and more efficient than coal-fired power plants.
"These options mean we can meet demand for electricity with less air pollution and fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and with less risk to human health, the environment, and to the economy of Alberta than by burning coal," said Environmental Policy Analyst, Mary Griffiths.
"Postponing coal plants may also allow time for new, less-polluting coal-burning technologies to become economically viable," Griffiths noted. An example of this is Coal Gasification, a technology that first gasifies the coal and then burns the gas. Gasification is being used to produce electricity on a large scale in many locations throughout the world and may be fully economic in Alberta in 10 years.
"Ten years is fine. Until generators in Alberta adopt Coal Gasification or other technologies that are as clean as gas, new coal is simply not justifiable," said Marr-Laing.
Far from using cleaner coal plant technology, the current EPCOR proposal is for a conventional coal-burning plant. The proposal does not even incorporate best commercially available technology to control air emissions and consequently would not meet the minimum environmental standards being used to regulate conventional coal fired generation plants in the United States.
The Pembina Institute's submission to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board is being made on behalf of the Clean Energy Coalition. The Coalition includes the Environmental Resource Centre, Toxics Watch Society and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, as well as local landowners. The EUB hearing on EPCOR's Genesee 3 plant will begin on Tuesday, September 18, 2001 in the Genesee Community Centre.
For additional information, download the Pembina Institute's EPCOR hearing submission.
For more information contact:
Tom Marr-Laing
Director, Energy Watch Program, Pembina Institute
Cell: 780-621-2472
Email: thomasml@pembina.org
Mary Griffiths
Policy Analyst, Pembina Institute
Office: 780-433-6675
Email: maryg@pembina.org