The Manitoba government’s decision to support a new fossil gas-fired power plant—announced in today’s throne speech—is a major disappointment that undercuts its recent commitments to emissions reductions, affordability and economic development. Rather than take advantage of the tremendous technological advances and cost reductions in renewables and energy storage that have unfolded in recent years, this move further entrenches the province’s dependence on expensive and high-polluting fossil fuel infrastructure.
“Building a new fossil gas power plant when we need to be moving swiftly away from fossil fuels is like starting up a landline business in the era of smart phones,” said Laura Cameron, Director of Climate Action Team Manitoba. “This move will keep Manitoba reliant on imported, price-volatile fossil gas, holding us back from an affordable, reliable, and fully renewable energy grid. The Province can’t claim climate leadership while expanding fossil fuel infrastructure.”
The extremely high price tag of this proposed gas plant—now estimated at $3 billion, not including lifetime costs of operations, maintenance, and fuel—has been justified on the grounds of the supposedly unique reliability that thermal power stations provide, especially for wintertime demand peaks. Yet thermal generation faces serious vulnerability to extreme weather, including equipment and gas wells freezing up in the cold and plant outages due to hotter air and water temperatures. There is also a global shortage of gas turbines that has extended wait times to as much as seven years. And despite allusions to a “dual fuel” design, the only realistic option for this facility is burning fossil gas, leaving Manitoba vulnerable to highly volatile price fluctuations.
By contrast, a new report published by the Climate Action Team this week shows how Manitoba can meet growing peak demand by investing in 200MW of grid-scale battery energy storage alongside the 600MW of wind power that Manitoba Hydro is currently procuring. Such investments would greatly improve grid stability and reliability, particularly during drought conditions, and maximize the generation capacity of existing and future wind power. In the long term, Manitoba should plan to build out a mix of wind, solar, diverse energy storage, and grid connections to maximize its clean energy advantage, develop green jobs and industries, and support electrification of heating and transportation.
In last month’s Path to Net-zero, the Province recommitted to a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. This new power plant directly contradicts that commitment. Though it is slated to be a “peaker plant” only used for several weeks per year, it is likely that use of the power plant will grow in the years ahead as Manitoba moves to electrify, and risks enabling energy-intensive industries such as AI data centres and direct air capture. These funds would be better spent on renewable and energy storage projects which can produce clean electricity all year round.
“When this provincial government was formed, it pledged to handle Manitoba Hydro differently,” says James Wilt, CAT’s Policy Development Manager. “Today’s decision represents a betrayal of that promise and an undermining of the province’s already inadequate climate commitments.”