Paper criticizes cost, benefit of Boundary Dam Carbon Capture project
SaskPower, premier says project strikes balance
Reported by Lisa Schick
First Posted: Feb 10, 2015 4:40pm | Last Updated: Feb 11, 2015 7:49am
SaskPower hailed the Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project as landmark, and the "first of its kind," but now a new paper is called the project environmentally and financially irresponsible.
The paper published by the left-leaning think tank, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the $1.4 billion spent on the project was possibly too much for SaskPower unless it's permitted to raise rates, which will end up costing more for customers across the province.
It also states that the risk was very high for the project, and the future financial rewards from the technology are "questionable."
Upgrades to the Queen Elizabeth plant or a wind farm would have been a better investment, said Mark Bigland-Pritchard, an independent environmental analyst who co-authored the paper with Brian Banks, a former director of the CCPA's Saskatchewan office.
Thanks to federal regulations, without the carbon capture project, the coal plant would have had to be shut down. But Bigland-Pritchard said coal is a very expensive way of generating electricity.
"We could actually generate the same power from wind for probably half the price, so why are we not doing that? Every country which is making a serious attempt to cut its carbon emissions is taking that route rather than the CCS (carbon capture and storage) route."
Bigland-Pritchard supports leaving coal behind completely as an energy source. He said that renewable resources are a proven pathway, whereas carbon capture technology is very expensive and unproven.
The paper also criticized the project on an environmental basis. SaskPower touts it as capturing one million tonnes of greenhouse gases, but the paper said that's only about seven per cent of all greenhouse gases generated by Saskatchewan's coal power, and less than two per cent of the province's total emissions.
It also took issue with the deal the province has made with Cenovus Energy to buy some of the carbon that it captures to use in the oil fields. The paper explained that for every tonne of carbon injected into the earth, about 2.7 times as much carbon dioxide will be put into the air from the burning of the extra oil taken out of the ground.
The paper called the decision to go with the Boundary Dam project a political one, coming from the provincial government. Bigland-Pritchard said he's not against carbon capture technology.
"I think we may be needing this technology in future, but now, I think, is not the time for it."
Banks and Bigland-Pritchard aren't the first to bring up concerns with the project. Just before the facility opened last year, John Bennett, director of environment group Sierra Club of Canada told the Globe and Mail, "It’s a waste of vital capital that should be invested in conservation, efficiency and renewable (energy).”
Regardless, the project has gotten a lot of international attention. Representatives from 20 countries attended the opening of the facility in October 2014, and it was listed as number two in National Geographic's article "10 Energy Breakthroughs that could change your life."
Banks and Bigland-Pritchard aren't the first to bring up concerns with the project. Just before the facility opened last year, John Bennett, director of environment group Sierra Club of Canada told the Globe and Mail, "It’s a waste of vital capital that should be invested in conservation, efficiency and renewable (energy).”
Regardless, the project has gotten a lot of international attention. Representatives from 20 countries attended the opening of the facility in October 2014, and it was listed as number two in National Geographic's article "10 Energy Breakthroughs that could change your life."
At the project's launch, Premier Brad Wall said it strikes a balance between the energy we need and protecting the environment.
In response to the paper, SaskPower went over the positives of the project. The Crown corporation said it's providing affordable coal power to 100,000 homes and businesses that's ten times cleaner than other coal units. Greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced after SaskPower shut down units 1 and 2 at the Boundary Dam Power Station.
SaskPower said it's reduced its reliance on coal power from 65 per cent to 45 per cent in the last ten years. Last year, over 25 per cent of power in Saskatchewan came from renewable resources, including hydro, wind, and biomass.
Source: http://cjme.com/story/paper-criticizes-cost-benefit-boundary-dam-carbon-capture-project/534597
