October 16, 2023 Ottawa, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
From our homes to our businesses to our workplaces, electricity powers our lives and our economy. Building a clean, reliable and affordable electricity grid is a crucial economic and environmental pursuit. The private sector is increasingly prioritizing access to clean electricity to stay competitive and to seize new economic opportunities, including in the emerging and growing industries of hydrogen and critical minerals. The economy is also rapidly electrifying as consumers adopt electric heat pumps and purchase electric vehicles and as industry transitions to clean power on the path to net zero.
It is in this context that today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources; the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs and the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, met with the Honourable Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia; the Honourable Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables of Nova Scotia; and the Honourable Blaine Higgs, Premier of New Brunswick, to discuss the phase-out of coal-fired electricity generation by 2030 and the drive to net-zero electricity by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050 in a manner that is affordable for all Nova Scotians and New Brunswickers.
At the meeting, the Governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia agreed to a Joint Policy Statement on Developing and Transmitting Clean, Reliable and Affordable Power in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which includes advancing two tracks of collaborative work to help enable the phase-out of coal-fired electricity generation by 2030 and to drive to net-zero electricity by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050. As part of the first track of collaborative work, priority projects required to meet the 2030 timeline include the building of the Salisbury-Onslow Reliability Tie - the first phase of a modified Atlantic Loop, connecting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
To further the objectives made in the Statement, today the Government of Canada announced:
· $11.5 million in federal funding to Nova Scotia Power to improve grid system monitoring and automation as new clean energy assets are commissioned and the proportion of intermittent wind on the Nova Scotia grid grows. This will support the innovation and transformation needed to adopt clean generation and effectively manage the off-coal transition in Nova Scotia;
· $7 million in federal funding to support predevelopment of ARC Clean Technology Canada's small modular reactor at Point Lepreau in New Brunswick;
· $2 million in federal funding to help explore the feasibility of converting the Belledune coal-fired Generating Station in New Brunswick from coal to sustainably sourced biomass, through a fuel testing program, as well as a $978,945 investment to help the Belledune Port Authority undertake site preparedness studies to establish an industrial green hub.
These investments reflect an initial commitment to supporting the electricity system opportunities detailed in the recently released electricity plans of both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and reflect the ongoing collaboration between the federal and provincial governments on areas of mutual interest identified as significant economic and climate opportunities under the Canada-New Brunswick and Canada-Nova Scotia Regional Energy and Resource Tables. These focus areas include innovations in the nuclear sector like small modular reactors, advancing clean hydrogen and ammonia production, and deploying demand management and affordability measures like heat pump programs.
Today's progress builds upon the significant commitments made by the federal government to the electricity sector in Budget 2023 that will help support these priorities. These include the new Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit, the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit, and a $2.9-billion recapitalization of the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program.
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will continue to work together to advance areas of critical importance on the path to net-zero electricity by 2035 and to further explore additional regional transmission and energy exchange opportunities in partnership with neighbouring utilities in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and P.E.I.
