|
|
Edmonton's Power Supply
Many plants have been built in central Alberta over the past decades, while
none have been built in southern Alberta. Thus consumers are faced with the
prospect of paying $500 million for a transmission line between central Alberta
and Calgary. To prevent this, the provincial transmission administrator awards
a bonus to anyone adding capacity in southern Alberta. Anyone adding capacity
in northern Alberta faces a penalty. In the case of Rossdale, this penalty is
listed as $2.97 per megawatt per hour - or between $5 and $6 million a year.
In short, the system's independent manager believes there is no need for additional
capacity in Edmonton.
Economic Impact
EPCOR's proposal claims to provide annual returns of $30 million. Net returns
to the City of Edmonton from the revenues due to this expansion might be in
the order of $3 million per year. Those revenues need not be lost if Rossdale
is not expanded, as they could be generated by installing this capacity at another
site. EPCOR's proposal claims the project will provide 140,000 person hours
of construction employment. This amounts to 35 jobs over two years.
Incomplete Disclosure
EPCOR documents make only one small reference to future plans on the site beyond
repowering unit #8 with unit #11. However, demolition of the historic building
is necessary only to accommodate future expansions in the creation of a much
larger power plant than what exists or is proposed today. Approval of the phase
1 expansion would inevitably give rise to justification for further expansions
by retrofitting the remaining two high-pressure turbines. During the City Council
meeting of September 14, 1999, EPCOR confirmed that further expansions are a
definite possibility. This amounts to an incomplete disclosure by EPCOR of plans
for the site.
Community Opposition
Community opposition to the Rossdale expansion was apparent during EPCOR meeting
in the spring of 1999. Of 150 attendees at several open houses, 39 completed
questionnaires. Most requested more information and many expressed concerns.
While these concerns have not been addressed, the Municipal Impact Assessment
makes reference to "widespread community support."
Decomissioning
The Rossdale turbine is nearing the end of its economic life. A provincial order
to decommission the plant was issued, and $30 million was set aside by the province
to restore the site.
Emissions
EPCOR proposals claim that per unit emissions will decrease. A plant three times
the size of the existing one will be operating 24 hours a day, every day of
the year, instead of intermittently. Thus total CO2 and NOx
emissions will increase.
Historic Building
The Maxwell Dewar Building is one of only five industrial buildings on Edmonton's
architectural heritage "A" list and the only one to rate 48/48 on an historic
valuation scale. EPCOR documents show that the proposed Phase 1 expansion could
be accommodated within the existing structure with the incremental cost given
as $3 million. (A rally to protest the demolition, held with six day's notice
and without any funding or publicity, attracted 187 people. Community and historical
groups are raising funds to mount a legal challenge.)
Building size
The tallest section of the plant is currently 75 feet tall. The proposal calls
for a structure that is 97 feet (or ten stories) high. The footprint of the
proposed building will be smaller than that of the historic building.
Stacks
EPCOR states the project will eliminate six stacks. Located on the historic
building, these have not been in operation for years and could be removed. Their
proposed elimination is in conjunction with the proposed demolition. The three
larger stacks will remain and a new larger stack will be added. As all will
be in continuous operation, dangerous winter ice fog conditions will be more
common.
District Heating
This "benefit" is featured in EPCOR's promotional literature. The technical
description text in the main body of the application indicates EPCOR has studied
district heating in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, finding that the concept then
and now is uneconomic. The "district heating promise" is cited now, as it has
been for more than 20 years, whenever environmental opposition emerges.
Proximity of Generation
Efficiencies and reductions in transmission losses are cited by EPCOR in justifying
expansion on the Rossdale site. If Cloverbar were to be expanded, EPCOR estimates
that energy losses would increase on the order of 3-4 million kWh per year.
This represents about 0.4 MW or less than 0.2% of the efficiency of the Rossdale
plant. By way of comparison, transmission losses in Alberta average about 6%
of all power generated and delivered to customers over the transmission system
(about 2.5 billion kWh per year).
No other location
EPCOR maintains that Rossdale is the only site suitable for expansion. We can
find no evidence that other options, such as expanding the Cloverbar plant or
forming a partnership to add capacity in southern Alberta, have been seriously
considered.
Too late to turn back
EPCOR officials have stated the project timelines may not be altered as
the turbine has been ordered. Manufacturers are backed up with orders and prices
have escalated. While the prospect of a hefty cancellation fee was cited during
the September 14, 1999 City Council meeting, the industry procedure in such
a case is to sell one's place in line to another purchaser waiting for equipment.
Communications Program
The Rossdale proposal was introduced to nearby residents and affected property
owners as the repowering of an existing turbine that would be "smaller, quieter,
and more environmentally friendly." It was presented to City Council as the
only viable option for EPCOR to pursue when privatization did not proceed. It
was apparently presented to downtown businesses as seeing Edmonton become the
only downtown in North America with the assurance of a reliable power supply
right on the doorstep.
revision information
$Id: issues.php,v 1.2 2004/01/18 23:30:46 tim Exp $