Manitoba Hydro proposes $1.4B fuel-burning generating station to stave off winter power shortages
CBC
Manitoba Hydro is proposing to spend $1.36 billion on a new fuel-burning station capable of generating 500 megawatts of electricity on demand, in order to stave off a power shortage expected as soon as five winters from now.
On Tuesday, the provincial Crown corporation asked the Public Utilities Board to review a preliminary estimate for a new "dispatchable capacity resource" made up of two 250-megawatt fuel-combustion turbines.
While no decision has been made on the fuel source for the turbines, the least expensive available option would be natural gas — a fuel the province's NDP government has promised to phase out as an electricity source by 2035.
Adrien Sala, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, said the Crown corporation is also looking at the use of hydrogen and renewable natural gas in the new facility.
Manitoba Hydro has a generating capacity of 6,120 megawatts when all of its generating stations are functioning and water levels are topped up on Lake Winnipeg, its main reservoir.
In a six-page cost estimate for the proposed new generating station, Hydro warns the province needs to be able to generate more electricity on demand to prevent "sustained winter peak capacity deficits" that could arise as early as 2029-2030.
Hydro said it has to start planning right now for this station to "ensure construction and procurement timelines can be achieved and have supply in place" in time for the end of 2029.
The $1.36-billion estimate is based on the lowest-cost known facility, which would be a pair of combustion turbines.
"Manitoba Hydro is studying a variety of fuels," the estimate states. "No decision on the fuel source has been made."
Peter Chura, a spokesperson for Hydro, said the Crown corporation is just starting to consider what fuel would be used in the proposed plant.
"We want to have on the one hand the lowest-cost resource available, and yet we have not ruled out some of the latest technologies," Chura said. "Whatever is the best option at the most affordable price."
While natural gas is widely available, Premier Wab Kinew has asked Sala to phase out the on-demand use of Manitoba's sole existing natural gas-fired plant, the 280-watt Brandon Generating Station, by 2035.
The other fuel options for the new plant — hydrogen and renewable natural gas, which is derived from biological gases emitted from the likes of compost, landfills, sewage treatment or even livestock farms — would require additional expenditures.
For example, a new facility would have to be built in Manitoba to purify biogas to the point where it can be burned as fuel, while hydrogen is expensive to store because steel tanks require layers of coating to prevent them from absorbing the fuel, becoming brittle and fracturing.
Premier Doug Ford says his government plans to give Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport special designation that would allow the province to bypass municipal and provincial laws as it pushes to expand the runway downtown.
Jenelle Hughes says she worries every time her two older children take their car to get to Fanshawe College in London, Ont., from their home in Dutton.
Oil prices fell Monday morning after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would hold off on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure amid productive talks between the two countries.
While spring technically started late last week, Newfoundland and Labrador isn't free from winter weather just yet.
The Sudbury School Bus Consortium is suspending all school buses in Greater Sudbury as the community continues to clean up following a major storm.
Two large corporate landlords owning a combined 9,008 rental units in Halifax are reporting smaller annual increases in their average rents for 2025 than the previous year.
The Holt government has reached a deal with Ottawa on compensation for tens of millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue from the Christmas season in 2024.
The government of Saskatchewan has announced plans to reduce the length of non-resident game bird hunting licences to combat illegal guiding.
An 87-year-old Alberta man is fighting extradition to the United Kingdom to stand trial for historical allegations of physical and sexual assault involving minors.
Eight casinos across southwest B.C. have been sold to First Nations in the last two years, with the province's gambling scene set to be reshaped as a result.
Hamilton hosts the Junos Sunday, and the musical awards show is bringing tourists, musicians, concerts and a ton of themed events to the city this week.
The multi-million-dollar deal at the heart of a high-profile fight between the Canadian government and one of the world’s biggest carmakers contains multiple clauses about the company’s footprint in Ontario, according to a copy obtained by CBC Windsor.
In recent months, Calgary police have carried out three day-long safety blitzes, parading out dozens of officers to flood an area with their increased presence — at least, temporarily.