{"id":61920,"date":"2025-07-25T11:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T14:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/?p=61920"},"modified":"2025-07-25T12:17:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T15:17:20","slug":"mitton-calls-for-comprehensive-review-of-huge-and-complex-gas-plant-project-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/mitton-calls-for-comprehensive-review-of-huge-and-complex-gas-plant-project-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitton calls for comprehensive review of \u2018huge\u2019 and \u2018complex\u2019 gas plant project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Image from EIA registration document from PROENERGY. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton is calling for a comprehensive provincial environmental impact assessment<\/a> (EIA) of a proposed natural gas power plant<\/a> in rural Tantramar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a huge project, and it needs to be taken seriously,\u201d says Mitton. \u201cThere are environmentally significant areas involved. There’s water, air pollution, in addition to the province being responsible for the issue of greenhouse gas emissions,\u201d says Mitton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear the full, edited interview with Megan Mitton here, starting off with how she first heard about the project.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitton attended information sessions hosted by the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada<\/a>, and was left thinking \u201ca lot of studies, a lot of research hadn’t been done\u2026 It\u2019s really super preliminary, and so we would need a whole lot more information and study, and again, proper consultations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for the provincial department of environment says that the current provincial EIA will involve a technical review committee, \u201ccomprised of subject matter experts and specialists from provincial, federal, and local governments.\u201d By email, spokesperson Vicky Lutes said the project \u201cproponents are also required to conduct a public engagement program\u201d as part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The EIA review is underway, and no decision will be made until all relevant technical issues raised by the Technical Review Committee, First Nations and the public have been addressed,\u201d wrote Lutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the province’s website<\/a>, comprehensive EIAs happen less often than the more common determination review, which is now underway. Comprehensive EIAs take place “if the Minister suspects project impacts may be significant or decides that more study is needed to further assess these impacts,” reads the website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says she first heard that the natural gas plant project was being planned for rural Tantramar on the morning of July 14, when someone sent her a press release from NB Power announcing the \u201cCentre Village Renewables Integration and Grid Security Project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had this brief moment when I read the word renewable, where I thought there’s going to be a renewable energy project in our riding,\u201d recalls Mitton. \u201cAnd then I was quickly disappointed that actually, no, they’re building a fracked gas plant in our riding. It turned from, you know, a moment of hope to being not just disappointed, but frustrated and appalled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says she doesn\u2019t quite buy the reasons given by NB Power to justify the construction of the ten-turbine gas power plant, namely that its needs to fill gaps in intermittent supply from planned future renewable sources, and that it can help provide grid stability through \u2018voltage support\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says she would like to see NB Power\u2019s analysis of alternatives like battery storage, which she says is an option to be used with solar and wind. \u201cSolar and wind with battery storage is becoming cost competitive, if not cheaper, than using natural gas,\u201d says Mitton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MLA cites a recent UN report<\/a>, \u201cSeizing the moment of opportunity: supercharging the new energy era of renewables, efficiency, and electrification\u201d, which makes the case that global trends around renewable energy, including falling costs as supply increases, will need investment and support in the coming decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have other ways to do this,\u201d says Mitton. \u201cWe can look at storage. We need to improve the grid. We need to improve energy efficiency and focus on renewables. We can’t lock ourselves into at least 25 years more of burning gas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much gas will the new plant burn?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Representatives of project proponents PROENERGY Canada have said that the plant may only be burning natural gas about 7% of the time, and the rest of the time it would have turbines spinning under electrical power to add inertia to the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with NB Power citing capacity needs, and a grid interconnected with both PEI and Nova Scotia, Mitton says she has a hard time believing the plant would only generate electricity 7% of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat doesn’t make sense to me,\u201d says Mitton. \u201cThis is the type of infrastructure that costs money, and they’re going to want a return on their investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey will have an incentive to, basically, burn the gas and pollute in Tantramar, and sell the energy across the [provincial] border,\u201d says Mitton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just don’t buy that they’re barely going to use it,\u201d says the MLA. \u201cI don’t think that’s accurate. And again, they’re locking in for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constituents ‘shocked’ by proposal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says that the federal impact assessment process for the project, which on Friday extended the deadline for public comments to August 13<\/a>, is happening too quickly and in a way that minimizes participation. \u201cIt\u2019s problematic that it’s in the middle of summer,\u201d says Mitton, \u201cand I think there are going to be people who come back from vacation and say, wait, what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal impact assessment is also limited in the scope of issues that may trigger a more thorough process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image from EIA registration document submitted by PROENERGY, showing a similar plant to the one proposed for Centre Village. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says she\u2019s heard from many of her constituents who feel \u201cquite shocked, like this came out of left field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people are worried about how this is going to affect their well water or the air, because they live near it. There are people who are extremely concerned about how this seems to disregard the science in terms of the climate crisis,\u201d says Mitton. And there\u2019s neighbours like the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, \u201ctalking about how this is an important area for wildlife connectivity between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitton says she\u2019s also heard concerns about the fact that PROENERGY is an American company, and the natural gas to be used in the project comes from American sources, via the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline<\/a>.

She says many constituents are upset about the potential 25-year deal, \u201cwhile we’re in the middle of an economic trade war with the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MLA says she has yet to hear from constituents in favour of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with her call for a comprehensive provincial EIA, Mitton says she wants NB Power to share more about the economics of the project. \u201cWe know solar and wind with battery is becoming cheaper than gas, and so I’d like NB Power to really, you know, show the receipts\u2026 Show their analysis of battery storage and show how much this is going to cost New Brunswickers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the public question wetland and wildlife impacts during first info session on Centre Village gas plant<\/a><\/blockquote>