Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili agrees with SaskPower not pursing carbon capture and storage with Boundary Dam Units 4 and 5. He spoke to the Mercury about this on July 12.
Estevan Mercury: What are your thoughts on SaskPower not proceeding with CCS on BD4 and 5?
Ryan Meili: I think it makes a lot of sense. The amount of investment in the first round, in BD3, has not been paying off in terms of the operating of that facility at the level it was expected to. To put that kind of money into furthering down the road of what continues to be an expensive, experimental approach for reducing carbon, the case for that is not strong when you compare it to other was of reducing our emissions.
Mercury: There are serious indications that it may proceed, eventually, with CCS on Shand. What do you think of that?
Meili: One of the things I think wasn’t done well enough the first time around was our homework. And this, hopefully, will be an exploration, and an actual exploration, where they won’t proceed for political reasons, but they’ll proceed if it’s actually a good project, where it will reduce emissions and do so in a way that is affordable.
Mercury: We’ve been hearing of this “equivalency agreement” for a long time. I thought it was done, but apparently not. Is this ever going to happen, or is this a pipe dream? And if it doesn’t happen, that means BD4 and 5 shut down in 17 months. What do you think about that?
Meili: I think it’s a real risk that they be shut down in 17 months. We should be preparing for that possible eventuality.
We don’t have that agreement. I don’t know why. We should by now. Has this government’s reluctance to communicate in any meaningful way around the pan-Canadian framework on climate change made that more difficult? It’s not for me to say, but it seems like a real possibility that’s the case, where it’s hard for the federal government to says, “Yes, we’ll see that as an equivalency and account for that,” while there’s resistance around working together on any other aspect of this.
I do have real concerns that the way the provincial government has managed that federal-provincial relationship has made it harder for us to do that, and it’s accelerating the process that has to happen, but could be happening in a way that puts us in real danger. If we have those go offline quickly, without having the time to increase the capacity, through gas or renewables, we could be in a situation of having inadequate electrical power.
Mercury: Is this a case of, because we’re not playing ball on the carbon tax, that’s why we’re not getting any equivalency agreement?
Meili: I’m not in those rooms, so I don’t know for sure, but one has to wonder. I would really hope the federal government would not put us in a situation where we might actually be struggling to provide sufficient energy for our public. At the same time, you have to see the way the provincial government has managed that federal-provincial relationship has made it much harder for these things to proceed properly.
Mercury: The net result of shutting down Units 1, 2, 4 and 5 means Boundary Dam, in a few years, will be using about half the coal then it was a few years ago. That’s already meant a partial reduction in mining, and will result in a further result. What does this mean for Estevan and its coal mining economy?
Meili: We are seeing a world that is moving away from coal. Whatever the pace of that is, and the pace matters; whatever the pace of that is, we need to be looking at what’s our way out of this. Trying to force that continue when it isn’t the best way to produce power, isn’t wise. So what are the things we can do to be looking at? Where can the people, who are currently working in that industry, see themselves working in a few years.
What I am frustrated about is that this government has done nothing. And we have seen a little bit of discussion from the federal government, coming around and having community meetings, but absolute nothing from this government looking at how do we plan for a transition that is actually a just transition. A transition that people have good, mortgage-paying, quality jobs that reflect their experience and their skills, in the area they live.
I think there are huge possibilities for that, including in the renewable energy field. As well as being the coal belt, it’s also a sun and wind belt. There’s lots of opportunities in that area. No one is having that conversation right now.
Mercury: Should SaskPower convert BD4 and 5 to natural gas?
Meili: That’s a little bit beyond my knowledge level on how easily that conversion can be done and if it’s the right way to do it. Maybe I’ll say it this way. We should be looking, as we’re looking to replace power, also to replace employment in the area where that employment already exists.
I would say you put an emphasis, a premium, on whatever kind of development needs to be done, in the southeast, so that we’re not, as we’re doing this change, disproportionately harming an area that has been such an important part of our economy and such an important source of energy over the years.
Mercury: SaskPower Minister Dustin Duncan has strongly hinted that more natural gas power generation is in the future. What do you think about this? Should we be building natural gas power plants, and if so, where?
Meili: We should be moving as quickly as possible to increasing our capacity in renewable energy. There are some ways we can do that in a really ambitious fashion that will both increase our capacity for energy production as well as opportunities for local revenue generation and employment. Gas is going to be part of the mix, but that wouldn’t be my top priority. My top priority would be moving us towards a more economically and environmentally sustainable approach with a really strong emphasis on renewables.
