Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Project energy context
The proponent also considered drawing on supplies from a new terminal or from a
terminal being expanded along the Gulf of Mexico. Major expansion to existing
pipelines would also be required to transport the natural gas as far as Dawn in
Southern Ontario, and then farther downstream to supply the target markets. The
proponent estimates that the costs would be much greater than those required on the
TransCanada and TQM Pipeline networks to deliver the natural gas to the same
markets from Saint-Nicolas. The proponent concluded that this solution would not be
viable unless the pipelines in the United States were to offer major reductions on their
transportation charges in order for the gas prices to be competitive at Dawn and at
markets downstream from there. However, the US markets would likely be ready to
pay higher transportation charges than the Quebec and Ontario markets, and this
prompted the proponent to reject this alternative (ibid., p. 2.57).
Finally, the proponent considered an alternative consisting in setting up offshore
facilities to receive LNG tankers with the necessary equipment to regasify and
pressurize the natural gas. The tankers would moor at buoys linked to the gas
pipeline network by an underwater pipe and would remain as long as required to
regasify their cargo. The proponent deemed however this technology inappropriate for
the St. Lawrence River in views the presence of ice and of its uncertain economic
viability (ibid., p. 2.58).
♦ Finding — The Panel found that the proponent assessed various alternatives to natural
gas sources from Western Canada to supply the Quebec and Ontario markets.
The project and carbon dioxide emissions 1
Canada stands out among OECD member countries for certain characteristics that
influence its energy consumption, as well as the relative carbon footprint of the
country’s economic and human activities. These characteristics include geographic
location, the rigour of its sub-arctic winters, the large expanse of its land and its
implications in transportation loads, its demographic growth rate, and the nature of its
industry based on the development of natural resources, and the resultant costs of all
these factors for the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Canada also stands out
owing to the large place renewable hydro power occupies in its energy mix, as
1. Given that this mainly concerns carbon dioxide emissions, the Panel will use the terms “carbon dioxide” and
“greenhouse gases” interchangeably.
Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure 77