Dr. Larry Hughes
Professor, the Department of Electircal and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University.

Amy Pellerin
Tenured Professional Engineer, Renewable Energy Sector, Director of Canadian Developments, Natural Forces.

Jennifer Williams
CEO and President, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Green electricity in NL: NL has an abundance of green energy, and already has an electricity grid predominantly fueled by renewable hydroelectricity. In addition to hydro, the provincial electricity grid also uses some wind energy, and some gas turbines for backup. There is also the Holyrood Thermal Generating Station, which is currently planned to end its tenure upon the full integration of the Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Project, and a small portion of diesel plants in the province’s remote communities.

Non-electricity energy usage is largely non-renewable: Beyond the electricity grid, a large percentage of the energy consumed in the province (for things like heating and transportation) comes from oil (almost 40% of the province’s emissions are coming from transportation). About half of the province’s emissions are coming from non-renewable sources.

Supply vs Capacity: Supply of energy (including renewables) is tremendous, but capacity to deliver the energy where and when it is needed is a key part of the issue. Because we have an abundance of green electricity, moving our current consumption of energy sources like oil and gas to electricity will greatly shift our total emissions. From an utility planning perspective, anticipating the future demand is key – this is the determining factor for what and when you need to build next. We may have an abundance of supply, but you cannot just build something because you can – you have to look at what you need, when you need it, and what the options are for that.

Opportunities for renewables: Newfoundland and Labrador has an excellent source of renewable energy and is very well positioned to be exporting a lot of that energy. Using this resource would not only benefit the province for all sorts of reasons, but also other markets and other jurisdictions that don’t have that wind resource, availability, or space to put these types of projects within their own communities.