Coady talks low-carbon power
Natural Resources Minister encourages pursuit of clean technology
Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady is impressed with some of the things happening in the Bay St. George area as it relates to the transition of a low-carbon economy.
She made the comment while addressing an Envirosummit hosted by the Bay St. George Chamber of Commerce at Days Inn in Stephenville on Thursday.
She said the Motive Power Centre of Excellence at the College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville is working towards industrial research and development.
Coady said the college sees this change toward a centre of excellence as an opportunity to get involved in the transition toward a low-carbon economy, reducing raw materials consumption while creating renewable energy opportunities.
She said another example of that in the Bay St. George area is New World Dairy in St. David’s, which is using biogas to generate electricity.
Coady said biogas is a renewal energy source, and not only is New World Dairy using materials from its own farm, but is bringing in material from other sources, including fish plants.
She said there is enormous potential for wind power on this side of the island, and
pointed to the offshore wind farm Beothuk Energy is working on developing in the Bay St. George area.
“That’s certainly a big opportunity,” Coady said.
She said some of the best
wind resources exist in this province, and wind power electricity is already being produced in St. Lawrence, Fermeuse and Ramea.
Coady said on a smaller scale, with net metering now
approved, solar and wind sources leave utility customers with options to produce their own electricity and even possibly sell extra power to the grid. She said application processes for this are going well.
The minister said hydro resources in this province are abundant, and once electricity from Muskrat Falls comes online, 98 per cent of the power in Newfoundland and Labrador will be generated from renewable resources.
She said the other two per cent are located in remote areas and even for those efforts are being made to power them by renewable energy, with the goal of having the province 100 per cent renewable.
Coady said there is certainly a market for clean technology in Canada and she is confident that those companies pursuing it will have much success.