Kenney attends gas pipeline launch
Premier throws jabs at climate protesters, arguing they want to shut down economy
PARKLAND COUNTY While thousands of Edmontonians made their way to the legislature grounds for a climate march featuring Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, Premier Jason Kenney headed west of the city to celebrate the launch of a new natural gas pipeline.
Transalta turned on the taps for its Pioneer Pipeline Friday morning, which will provide natural gas to the company’s power plants in Keephills and Sundance, 75 km west of Edmonton. The 130-km pipeline is part of a conversion of Transalta’s facilities to natural gas from coal.
Kenney said the pipeline represents a realistic approach to cutting down climate emissions.
“Here we are opening a gas pipeline that’s going to reduce emissions in Alberta power productions by 50 per cent,” Kenney told reporters. “This is a good day for Alberta jobs, a good day for diversifying our economy and it’s a good day for the environment.”
The premier also threw some jabs at protesters marching alongside Thunberg back in town, saying that their demands would lead to the province’s economic ruin.
“The truth is that the so-called climate strike movement is opposed to natural gas. They’re opposed to zero-emitting nuclear power. They ’re opposed to technological solutions. They’re opposed to the entire modern industrial economy,” he said. “Their manifesto essentially calls for shutting down our entire economy. That is not a real solution.”
Though the climate rally was a topic of conversation throughout the pipeline launch event, Kenney said the event had been scheduled for months and it was a coincidence that it was happening at the same time as Thunberg ’s Edmonton appearance.
Still, Kenney addressed protesters, touting Alberta’s ethical and clean production record and questioning the wisdom of rallying in Edmonton instead of in higher-polluting countries like Saudi Arabia.
“If people want to benefit from a modern economy, they have to understand that the power to generate modern conveniences and our standard of living comes from somewhere. You know where that somewhere is? This plant,” Kenney said.
“If people feel really passionately that this is a crisis ... then I encourage them to make that point in Riyadh, Moscow, Beijing and Caracas.”
Data compiled in 2016 by the International Energy Agency found that Canada has the fourth-highest per capital carbon dioxide emissions globally, behind Saudi Arabia, Australia and the U.S.
Transalta president and CEO Dawn Farrell says that the company plans to eventually fully convert its generating units to natural gas. She says the company will shift three of its existing thermal units away from coal by 2021, with another two conversions by late 2024.
The conversions are estimated to create about 200 construction-related jobs.
“In a very practical way, these plants will serve Albertans as back-ups or baseloads for the next 25–50 years,” Farrell said. “At the same time, more renewables will come in, and we’ll have a very good diversified and balanced system.”
The new pipeline will flow 130 million cubic feet per day, with room to expand to up to 440 million cubic feet per day once Transalta finishes converting its units. Construction on the pipeline began in November 2018.