National groups join opposition to McMaster's gas generators. Here's what energy experts say about their use

Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance and Stop Sprawl HamOnt are among a list of 120 Canadian and international organizations asking McMaster University to give up its plan to build gas-burning generators. 

The coalition also wants the Hamilton university "to take swift and meaningful action to divest from fossil fuels, in accordance with its institutional commitments and in line with climate science."

In a letter sent to the university's board of governors on Wednesday, the groups say they stand in solidarity with students who participated in a recent, eight-day hunger strike to push the school to stop plans to use natural-gas powered generators for electricity generation on campus and to divest from its fossil-fuel investments.

The hunger strike, organized by the McMaster Divestment Project, ended earlier this week due to health and safety concerns from participants.

"Students should not feel that resorting to a hunger strike is their only option for protecting our collective future," states the letter, signed by about 120 organizations, largely environmental and climate groups.

"As of last year, McMaster held $30.4 million in assets in the top 200 largest publicly-listed coal, oil, and gas reserves owners in the world… You have not set a formal, publicly disclosed plan for terminating these investments. 

"Further, the university is taking a step backwards on making its campus carbon neutral by building four natural gas-powered generators on environmentally sensitive lands. It is nonsensical to build new fossil fuel powered generation at a time when renewables are less expensive and this project would lock in emissions for years to come."

University spokesperson Wade Hemsworth says installation of the generators is underway. The school expects them to be operational this summer. According to McMaster's energy management plan, the generators will allow it to save money on its energy bill by participating in the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)'s Industrial Conservation Initiative.

The program offers a discount to heavy electricity users who conserve during peak hours. That means that by burning gas on the hottest days of summer, the school will be able to access savings intended to incentivize reduced energy use, says Royal Bank of Canada economist Colin Guldimann, author of a report released last fall called the Price of Power.

"[Reduced consumption is] not what's happening in this case," Guldimann told CBC Hamilton this week. "What we're seeing is [a] structure that is probably misaligned with our climate goals."

McMaster says it expects to use the generators for about 100 hours a year, creating 700 tonnes of "carbon dioxide equivalent." The school says those emissions would be created regardless of whether it is the university or the province's electricity providers making the power, as the province also uses natural gas generators during peak periods.

Guldimann says that's not necessarily the case – the school could always opt for renewable energy and a "sophisticated battery storage system," but that would likely cost more. He also notes McMaster may just feel too far along in the project to change its approach. 

"But technically speaking, there are alternatives."

The university says the savings generated from this project – $4 million annually – will help fund its other carbon reduction projects, such as electric boilers it planned to install at the end of 2022 to replace natural-gas burning boilers. Installation of the new boilers has been delayed to next year "due to COVID-19 and other factors," says Hemsworth.