Energy Plan - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Jurisdictions outside of
Newfoundland and Labrador
can also benefit from our
clean, renewable electricity
to offset a significant amount
of GHGs and other harmful
emissions from burning coal
or other hydrocarbons.
Electricity
Newfoundland and Labrador has tremendous clean renewable electricity
generation assets, including hydroelectric projects at Bay d’Espoir, Cat Arm,
Upper Salmon, Hinds Lake and, of course, Upper Churchill. As well, we have
significant undeveloped potential, most notably the Lower Churchill. Today, we
export three times more electricity than we use domestically and our undeveloped
sources give us the potential to export even more when our domestic needs are
met. As shown in Figure 4.1, hydroelectricity and wind energy resources are
essentially free of GHG emissions. They are also renewable and relatively stable
from a long-term cost perspective, making them extremely valuable assets in
both environmental and economic terms.
Figure 4.1
Greenhouse Gas Intensity of Electricity Generation, 2004
By making the right decisions, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can have
a cleaner environment and a solid and sustainable electricity industry, with
a secure supply of competitively-priced electricity for economic development
and domestic use. As energy continues to increase in demand and value, this
province will have a competitive advantage and be an even more attractive place
in which to live and do business.
Jurisdictions outside of Newfoundland and Labrador can also benefit from our
clean, renewable electricity to offset a significant amount of GHGs and other
harmful emissions from burning coal or other hydrocarbons.
Developing our renewable energy potential and getting it to domestic and export
customers will be a long-term, challenging process. It involves planning and
building some very large-scale projects, including transmission lines over great
distances and challenging terrain and completing complex agreements to secure
access on other transmission systems. This will require time, a tremendous
amount of development and construction work employing Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians and a significant amount of investment.
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A major decision in this Energy Plan is the strategic investment of a significant
portion of our non-renewable resource revenues in renewable energy infrastructure,
such as transmission, hydro developments and wind generation. Sharing the
benefits of today’s activities with future generations is sustainable development
in action.