New international power line to be in service next December

Next December, a new power line crossing the international border in Baileyville to connect Maine and New Brunswick should be in service. Groundbreaking for the Maine portion of the 345-kilovolt line, running 85-miles from Orrington to the St. Croix River, was held in October, and the official launch of construction of the New Brunswick International Power Line took place on November 28 in Lepreau. That line will extend approximately 58 miles from the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station to the Maine border
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The line will increase New Brunswick's export capacity from 700 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts and increase its import capacity from a conditional 100 megawatts to 400 megawatts. It will improve reliability of the electric grid system, since the Maine Electric Power Company line is the only connection at present between the state and the province. The line also will improve overall efficiency, as it will reduce transmission losses significantly.

"The energy sector has a huge role to play in putting the province on the road to self-sufficiency," said Premier Shawn Graham at the construction launch. "The new International Power Line that is being constructed is representative of a number of building blocks of the energy model that we envision for the province. This fits our quest to forge new and improved partnerships with neighbours on the energy front."

New Brunswick Power received approval for the line from the National Energy Board in March 2003, and Bangor Hydro had all of its necessary permits in place in the spring of 2006. Clearing of the right-of-way for the corridor in New Brunswick began in March 2006. NB Power has applied to the National Energy Board to use helicopters to transport the transmission towers from staging areas to the right-of-way. The use of helicopters is more efficient and causes less environmental impact, notes Pamela McKay, director of public relations for NB Power.

However, environmental groups on both sides of the border still have concerns about the projects. The Conservation Council of New Brunswick fears that the new power corridor will fragment wildlife habitat, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine believes the route will harm recreational, scenic and ecological resources in Downeast Maine by running the high power lines on 100-foot tall towers through the area. However, the Natural Resources Council believes that the route that was approved is better than the path that was first proposed, which would have cut a new corridor through the forest. That proposal was withdrawn by Bangor Hydro. The new route follows existing road and utility corridors, including the natural gas pipeline, for 96% of its length.

In New Brunswick, the new power corridor being created is also being eyed for the proposed Brunswick Pipeline, from the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline in Baileyville. At a hearing on the pipeline by the National Energy Board, held in November in Saint John, some Saint John residents expressed their opposition to the gas line running through residential and business areas of the city and also through Rockwood Park. David Coon of the Conservation Council expects a major consideration by the National Energy Board will be whether a new pipeline should be approved since the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline already is in place. Tolls on that line can be avoided through the constructing of the new line, though.

Along with concerns about creating a new power corridor, the Conservation Council also fears that the power line will create demand for building new power plants in New Brunswick. "We get the pollution and you get the power," says Coon. "We're continuing to pursue pollution-based development here."

Producing about 20 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, the province is above the targets set under the Kyoto Protocol for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, which are blamed for global warming. By 2010, New Brunswick is supposed to be at 1990 levels of 16 million tons, but instead of reducing emissions the province is adding more power plants, with another coal-fired plant that would produce about 3 million tons a year being considered near the plant in Belledune, and Irving considering a natural gas power plant near the LNG terminal by Saint John. Coon says it will be virtually impossible for the province to meet its targets for greenhouse gas emissions with the new plants.

McKay agrees that the new line will open up opportunities for exporting power to the New England market, but she points out that NB Power has increased its emphasis on renewable energy sources, targeting wind and tidal power. By 2016, the province is expected to be producing about 400 megawatts of wind power. However, Coon fears that the power produced from renewable sources will simply be exported instead of displacing existing pollution-producing plants.