New Brunswick's 2023 clean-energy timeline already outdated
Deadlines changing as a result of more ‘flexibility’ in weakened federal emissions rules
The New Brunswick government is pushing back several targets from its 2023 clean-energy plan, thanks to the relaxing of federal rules.
MLAs on the legislature's climate change committee were told that Ottawa's decision to soften its requirement for net-zero-emissions electricity generation by 2035 allows the province to move more slowly on several initiatives.
Those projects, and a timeline for adopting them, were laid out in a plan released by the previous Higgs Progressive Conservative government in December 2023.
A year and a half later, the plan is being updated and adjusted.
"I think the challenge as we can all appreciate in this space is that as soon as you produce a document, things change," Jeff Hoyt, the deputy minister of energy, told MLAs.
A decision on whether to refurbish the Mactaquac Dam at a potential cost of $9 billion was supposed to be made this year but will now be made in 2026.
The goal of "significant growth" in the network of electric vehicle charging stations, initially pegged to 2029, now has 2030 as a target date.
"Those are things that are being re-evaluated because we've been given more time and more flexibility," Hoyt said of the adjustments.
The final version of federal clean-energy regulations published in December 2024 created a range of exceptions to the goal of non-emitting electricity generation Canada-wide by 2035.
The changes cut in half the expected reductions in carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to warming temperatures.
But they give provinces "a lot more flexibility" to work toward the ultimate goal of net-zero emissions in 2050, Hoyt said.
The federal rules create exceptions for emissions from natural gas plants.
Last fall, N.B. Power announced it was looking for a proponent to build a 400-megawatt natural gas generating plant near Moncton to meet the growing demand for electricity in the southeast part of the province.
On Wednesday, Progressive Conservative MLA Ryan Cullins pointed out that the plant is nowhere to be found in the 18-month-old plan.
"It's good a example of how things change very fast," Hoyt said.
Not all of the timeline changes are due to weakened federal emissions rules.
Hoyt said small modular nuclear reactor technology has "developed slower than I think people were expecting. … The ability to draw in capital investment has been a significant challenge in that space over a number of years."
That may actually lead to cost savings, however.
The new federal flexibility on emissions from electricity generation means SMRs don't have to be ready as quickly, giving the province the opportunity to avoid first-of-their-kind units that are normally more expensive.
Two developers based in Saint John have received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to develop SMRs, but both companies have run into delays.
Hoyt said the department was closely watching the development of a General Electric SMR already approved for the Darlington nuclear plan in Ontario.
Green Party MLA Megan Mitton questioned whether the December 2023 report — or a previous report by the legislative committee — matters, given how much the timelines have changed.
"It seems like it loses its value quite a bit, if half the things in there are off-base now," she said.
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