| Landowner groups and environmentalists have banded together to fight against a proposed transmission line that would export power from Alberta to the U.S., arguing that it wouldn’t benefit Albertans economically and would have high environmental costs.
Montana Alberta Tie Ltd., a subsidiary of Tonbridge Power Inc. based in Toronto, has applied to the National Energy Board (NEB) to build a transmission line that could transport up to 300 megawatts of power between Lethbridge, Alberta and Great Falls, Montana.
The Pembina Institute, Toxic Watch Society of Alberta and two landowner groups – United Power Transmission Area Groups (UPTAG) and Citizens for Responsible Power Transmission – have formally objected to the application and are asking the National Energy Board to hold a public hearing on it so they can voice their concerns.
Nashina Shariff, associate director with Toxic Watch Society of Alberta, questions how it would benefit Albertans to export power that would likely come from coal-powered plants to the U.S. when all the profits will go to the private company that builds the line and all the pollution will stay in Alberta. Close to 70 per cent of all power in the province is generated through coal-fired power plants, which are heavily polluting.
"Coal emits mercury as well as greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Also there are a number of emissions that contribute to decreased air quality in the regions around the power plant. Because of the environmental impact of coal-fired power, hence the environmental impacts that exports of electricity from Alberta would have – that’s the reason that we’re concerned with any project that would allow for electricity exports," says Shariff.
Shariff says her organization fears that this application may only be the start, and that Alberta may become a major exporter of coal-generated power to states such as California.
"The California electricity market is huge and their demand is massive so… we could transfer as much coal-fired power as they could demand, but what would the environmental impact of that be for Albertans? We should think carefully about it," she says.
Bob Williams, of Montana Alberta Tie Ltd., says the line wouldn’t just export power to the U.S., but could also be used to import power from the U.S. into Canada. He adds the company has already signed a contract with two wind farms in Montana that want to transmit wind generated energy on the transmission line.
"We’re actually enabling the development of additional sources of renewable energy that wouldn’t otherwise be developed," says Williams.
However, he acknowledges that power transmitted on his company’s line could come from a variety of sources.
"We provide transportation and we do so on a non-discriminatory basis," he says. "It’s up to the governments of Alberta and Montana to decide how they want their power produced, whether it’s by coal, natural gas, by hydro, by wind, whatever. I don’t think our project is the appropriate place to have that debate."
Scott Stenbeck, a lawyer representing more than a dozen landowners who will be directly in the path of the transmission line if it’s built, describes the project as "a private-for-profit line that has no upside for the landowners and no upside for the citizens of this country."
"It’s purely to make a private enterprise money," he says.
Stenbeck says his clients are concerned that the price of power could go up if Alberta starts exporting some of its supply, and landowners have concerns about the health risks of living close to electromagnetic fields and the environmental impacts of the line. He adds the line will cut through some native prairie that is highly sensitive to disturbance.
Williams says there will be many benefits to Albertans from the transmission line. He says the company is planning to spend $18.5 million to build the line, which will create jobs, and the local municipality will benefit from a higher tax base. He adds that the existence of the transmission line could lead to new wind farms being built in Alberta, and the price of power could actually go down if more power were generated because of the line.
Kristen Higgins, spokesperson for the NEB, says the public comment period for the application is over and the NEB is now considering the application, but she couldn’t comment further on whether the board would recommend a public hearing or not.
If the company receives approval from the NEB, it would then have to get approval from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board as well as regulatory bodies in the U.S. to proceed. |
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