NL: More Electricty for twice the price

[Gwgan]

I dont know if “twice” is accurate but basically a hydropower plant changes the direction of electricity sales between NL and the mainland and island residents have to pay more

Hack the heat: How electric cars could change how we think about electricity, period

How can green energy and EVs thrive with this kind of a disincentive?

 

[wayner]

Isn't Muskrat Falls on the mainland in Labrador? Therefore you aren't really changing anything on the island, unless the power is flowing through transmission lines from Labrador > Newfoundland > elsewhere.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Isn't Muskrat Falls on the mainland in Labrador? Therefore you aren't really changing anything on the island, unless the power is flowing through transmission lines from Labrador > Newfoundland > elsewhere.

Explore the Maritime Link | Emera Newfoundland & Labrador

So, the article's key point is that OK, Muskrat Falls has become a very expensive project, but instead of exporting excess power to Nova Scotia at low cost, they should be seeking ways to use the excess at the same low cost to shift fossil fuel use to electricity within the province.

 

[wayner]

But there aren't a lot of people on the island. If they want to monetize electricty production then they should build aluminum smelters or bitcoin mining facilities (while the bitcoin bubble lasts)..

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

But there aren't a lot of people on the island. If they want to monetize electricty production then they should build aluminum smelters or bitcoin mining facilities (while the bitcoin bubble lasts)..

If they want to monetize electricity production, they shouldn't be forcing provincials to buy it.

 

[wayner]

If they want to monetize electricity production, they shouldn't be forcing provincials to buy it.

I don't disagree but provincial governments f'in with electricity markets is as Canadian as maple syrup, poutine and hockey. It is what we do!

 

[SmartElectric]

Muskrat Falls price tag rises by another billion: CEO

It boils down to this. NL conservative government approved project in part to build transmission capacity that will eventually be used to redirect the James Bay hydro that will come available in 40 years from now when the 2c/kWh 100 year deal with Quebec is done.

Politics.

As for 24c/kWh, that is the peak mid day rate for my super off peak advantage plan, which goes to 2c overnight.

Ontario nuclear refit is already $20B estimate, and rates will average 9.2c for just the nuclear power after the refit. That doesn't fully cover the waste and long term issues.

Big power plants with expensive to maintain transmission and distribution will not be economically competitive with solar and storage in a few years time, but the old guard policies by conservative and liberal governments continue on unabated.

 

[wayner]

Big power plants with expensive to maintain transmission and distribution will not be economically competitive with solar and storage in a few years time, but the old guard policies by conservative and liberal governments continue on unabated.

NL isn't a good place for solar - see the map below. Maybe they will need Scottish solar panels (aka wind turbines)

 

[SmartElectric]

One of the best places for solar in Ontario is Sudbury, believe it or not.

Really feel for our NL friends, got screwed by Quebec Hydro all those years ago, and now they're doubly screwed.

The only feasible solution IMHO is EV's, suck up all that power, and create a market where there will be a sustained need for all the juice due to come their way mid century when the Quebec deal is over.

Give some sweet heart deals to Google and others to put massive data centers in NL, maybe take advantage of the proximity to Europe, cool temperatures and abundance of low carbon power (and yes, counting the CO2 coming from the rotting trees drowned by the man made reservoir).