Texada Island project could reshape B.C. energy sector
By
Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
August 01, 2007
An ambitious $2-billion megaproject with the potential to reshape the British Columbia energy sector was announced Tuesday by a Calgary-based private company
An ambitious $2-billion megaproject with the potential to reshape the British Columbia energy sector was announced Tuesday by a Calgary-based private company.
WestPac LNG Corp. wants to build a terminal for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, on Texada Island in the Strait of Georgia and build a 600-megawatt electricity generating facility alongside.
![]("http://www.dogwoodinitiative.org/images/lng/texadaterminal")
Image credit: Vancouver Sun
It's the second such proposal in less than a week.
Last Friday, Calgary-based Kitimat LNG announced it is talking with prospective partners about a 250-megawatt to 500-megawatt generating facility to complement an LNG terminal it envisions for Kitimat on the B.C. central coast.
About 40 LNG terminals have been proposed for construction along the Pacific coast between Alaska and Mexico because domestic sources of gas are running out.
The import gas would come in compressed, liquefied form in tanker ships from places such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, albeit without the catastrophic ocean risks associated with oil spills because LNG evaporates as it warms.
The Texada facility would be served by one ship coming in about every 10 days.
One LNG terminal is nearing completion in Mexico, while 13 are mired in regulatory processes along the U.S. coast.
The Texada generating facility, fired by gas coming from the terminal, would become the single largest independent source of electricity in B.C. since Alcan's Kemano project was completed over 50 years ago.
At full power, a 600-megawatt facility would generate enough electricity to power 450,000 homes.
WestPac president Mark Butler told a news conference in Vancouver that WestPac is shelving plans it announced in 2004 for a LNG terminal at Prince Rupert in favour of the bigger Texada project.
He said it'll help answer BC Hydro's call to meet growing demand for electricity with new, private sector sources of power.
The relationship between the two facilities is symbiotic -- waste heat from the power plant would warm the LNG back into a gas, while the chill of the liquefied gas would help the generating turbines operate more efficiently.
The project requires a long and complicated series of government and other approvals before it can proceed, and construction could be underway in about two years if there are no major snags.
Butler admitted the private company, which boasts former B.C. attorney-general Geoff Plante on its board of directors, will need to raise money to build it.
He said the logistics are sound because Texada, an industry-friendly island that is the site of past and present mining operations, has in place the energy infrastructure to support economical gas and electricity connections for WestPac's projects.
Texada is already the site of a Terasen Gas pipeline that carries natural gas to Vancouver Island, and Butler said he believes WestPac could link its LNG terminal to that line.
Texada also offers a link to a 500-kilovolt BC Transmission Corp. power line that runs above-ground across the island as part of a major electricity connection between the B.C. mainland to Vancouver Island.
The Westpac project will require federal and provincial environmental approvals, approval from the B.C. Utilities Commission, a power sales contract with Hydro, a connection agreement with BC Transmission, and a partnership with Terasen -- as well as community support in Texada and Powell River, the latter of which serves as the seat of local government for the area.
WestPac has not formally approached any of the utilities, all of whom had only a few general comments about the project.
BC Hydro said WestPac would have an opportunity to bid on the Crown corporation's next call for power.
BC Transmission said it would comment at such time as it receives an interconnection request from WestPac.
Terasen Gas spokesman Scott Webb said the gas utility has not examined the proposal in detail.
"We certainly look forward to working with WestPac. I know there are a number of companies looking at terminals along the B.C coast and we're going to work with them to meet the energy demands of B.C."
Dave Murphy, Texada Island director for the Powell River regional district, said residents learned details of the project on Monday.
WestPac officials had previously discussed the Ridley project with the community because it included a link to Texada, but Murphy said the double-barrelled project is a new development.
He said residents would probably welcome the new jobs, but said it's not clear how much of a strain the project would put on local services at Texada and Powell River during its construction phase.
Murphy said WestPac won't have the confidence of the community until it can demonstrate it'll be beneficial to the area.
"They are going to have to alleviate any fears that our neighbors are going to have about safety and all of that," he said. "They've got an uphill battle to try to get us all on side."
Liquid natural gas, when regassified as methane, is an exceptionally clean burning fuel that's more or less free of pollutants. But a gas-fired plant will still contribute to one of the biggest problems confronting the planet -- greenhouse gas emissions that climate scientists say are contributing to global warming.
The B.C. government has not ruled out gas-fired electricity generation -- although it has a moratorium on development of coal-fired generation until technology has been developed to capture the emissions.
The energy plan announced earlier this year by B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld requires any new generation source to fully compensate for greenhouse gas emissions.
That means the 600-megawatt plant envisioned by WestPac will need "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions to qualify in a Hydro call for power -- possibly through the purchase of carbon credits -- to offset the impact of the emissions.
"We're not able at this stage in the process to state what exactly our emissions will be. We are aware of the energy policy. We will be working with the government as they flesh out and develop how that policy will be implemented," WestPac vice-president Celesa Horvath said.
Plante said B.C. needs "firm" sources of electricity to complement intermittent green sources such as run of river hydro, solar and wind, and the WestPac gas plant could also support decommissioning of the aging and inefficient Burrard thermal gas-fired generating plant in Port Moody.
"It represents a $2-billion private sector investment in British Columbia and that's something worth getting excited about," Plante said.
"B.C. has outgrown the capacity of our heritage assets. Every alternative for meeting our future electricity needs involves choices. This project offers an option which will help us meet those needs within a framework that is safe, secure and sustainable."
WestPac LNG Corp. wants to build a terminal for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, on Texada Island in the Strait of Georgia and build a 600-megawatt electricity generating facility alongside.
Image credit: Vancouver Sun
It's the second such proposal in less than a week.
Last Friday, Calgary-based Kitimat LNG announced it is talking with prospective partners about a 250-megawatt to 500-megawatt generating facility to complement an LNG terminal it envisions for Kitimat on the B.C. central coast.
About 40 LNG terminals have been proposed for construction along the Pacific coast between Alaska and Mexico because domestic sources of gas are running out.
The import gas would come in compressed, liquefied form in tanker ships from places such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, albeit without the catastrophic ocean risks associated with oil spills because LNG evaporates as it warms.
The Texada facility would be served by one ship coming in about every 10 days.
One LNG terminal is nearing completion in Mexico, while 13 are mired in regulatory processes along the U.S. coast.
The Texada generating facility, fired by gas coming from the terminal, would become the single largest independent source of electricity in B.C. since Alcan's Kemano project was completed over 50 years ago.
At full power, a 600-megawatt facility would generate enough electricity to power 450,000 homes.
WestPac president Mark Butler told a news conference in Vancouver that WestPac is shelving plans it announced in 2004 for a LNG terminal at Prince Rupert in favour of the bigger Texada project.
He said it'll help answer BC Hydro's call to meet growing demand for electricity with new, private sector sources of power.
The relationship between the two facilities is symbiotic -- waste heat from the power plant would warm the LNG back into a gas, while the chill of the liquefied gas would help the generating turbines operate more efficiently.
The project requires a long and complicated series of government and other approvals before it can proceed, and construction could be underway in about two years if there are no major snags.
Butler admitted the private company, which boasts former B.C. attorney-general Geoff Plante on its board of directors, will need to raise money to build it.
He said the logistics are sound because Texada, an industry-friendly island that is the site of past and present mining operations, has in place the energy infrastructure to support economical gas and electricity connections for WestPac's projects.
Texada is already the site of a Terasen Gas pipeline that carries natural gas to Vancouver Island, and Butler said he believes WestPac could link its LNG terminal to that line.
Texada also offers a link to a 500-kilovolt BC Transmission Corp. power line that runs above-ground across the island as part of a major electricity connection between the B.C. mainland to Vancouver Island.
The Westpac project will require federal and provincial environmental approvals, approval from the B.C. Utilities Commission, a power sales contract with Hydro, a connection agreement with BC Transmission, and a partnership with Terasen -- as well as community support in Texada and Powell River, the latter of which serves as the seat of local government for the area.
WestPac has not formally approached any of the utilities, all of whom had only a few general comments about the project.
BC Hydro said WestPac would have an opportunity to bid on the Crown corporation's next call for power.
BC Transmission said it would comment at such time as it receives an interconnection request from WestPac.
Terasen Gas spokesman Scott Webb said the gas utility has not examined the proposal in detail.
"We certainly look forward to working with WestPac. I know there are a number of companies looking at terminals along the B.C coast and we're going to work with them to meet the energy demands of B.C."
Dave Murphy, Texada Island director for the Powell River regional district, said residents learned details of the project on Monday.
WestPac officials had previously discussed the Ridley project with the community because it included a link to Texada, but Murphy said the double-barrelled project is a new development.
He said residents would probably welcome the new jobs, but said it's not clear how much of a strain the project would put on local services at Texada and Powell River during its construction phase.
Murphy said WestPac won't have the confidence of the community until it can demonstrate it'll be beneficial to the area.
"They are going to have to alleviate any fears that our neighbors are going to have about safety and all of that," he said. "They've got an uphill battle to try to get us all on side."
Liquid natural gas, when regassified as methane, is an exceptionally clean burning fuel that's more or less free of pollutants. But a gas-fired plant will still contribute to one of the biggest problems confronting the planet -- greenhouse gas emissions that climate scientists say are contributing to global warming.
The B.C. government has not ruled out gas-fired electricity generation -- although it has a moratorium on development of coal-fired generation until technology has been developed to capture the emissions.
The energy plan announced earlier this year by B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld requires any new generation source to fully compensate for greenhouse gas emissions.
That means the 600-megawatt plant envisioned by WestPac will need "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions to qualify in a Hydro call for power -- possibly through the purchase of carbon credits -- to offset the impact of the emissions.
"We're not able at this stage in the process to state what exactly our emissions will be. We are aware of the energy policy. We will be working with the government as they flesh out and develop how that policy will be implemented," WestPac vice-president Celesa Horvath said.
Plante said B.C. needs "firm" sources of electricity to complement intermittent green sources such as run of river hydro, solar and wind, and the WestPac gas plant could also support decommissioning of the aging and inefficient Burrard thermal gas-fired generating plant in Port Moody.
"It represents a $2-billion private sector investment in British Columbia and that's something worth getting excited about," Plante said.
"B.C. has outgrown the capacity of our heritage assets. Every alternative for meeting our future electricity needs involves choices. This project offers an option which will help us meet those needs within a framework that is safe, secure and sustainable."
Document Actions
- Send this
- Print this
- Bookmarks
lng texada