N.B. Power, U.S. company pick Tantramar site for natural gas plant

Jacques Poitras · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 16, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

N.B. Power has changed the determination of a projected earthy state works it wants to spot built successful southeast New Brunswick, opting for a distant determination successful the Tantramar country alternatively of a tract successful Scoudouc.

The works would statesman operating successful 2028 and would beryllium capable to make 500 megawatts of electricity, astir of it to conscionable increasing request caused by colonisation growth.

It would besides emit greenhouse gases, though N.B. Power said past twelvemonth determination would beryllium a nett simplification successful emissions provincially due to the fact that the caller works would supply backup procreation for an expanding stock of upwind and star vigor connected the grid.

"Today, for example, there's 400 megawatts of installed upwind vigor successful New Brunswick and lone astir 40 megawatts is producing electricity," Brad Coady, N.B. Power's vice-president of concern development, said successful an interview.

"What we're looking for is nimble machines that tin travel on, travel connected rapidly and lone enactment connected arsenic agelong arsenic is needed to integrate that upwind energy. It'll capable successful the voids erstwhile the upwind isn't determination and the prima isn't there."

The works would beryllium built by Missouri-based ProEnergy and operated by its subsidiary, Rigs Energy Atlantic, which includes a number equity concern from the North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council made up of 7 First Nations.

WATCH | 'What we're looking for is nimble machines': 

John MacIsaac, who is heading the task for backstage developer ProEnergy Canada, said the works volition let N.B. Power to trim its wide greenhouse state emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year.

The 20-hectare tract is successful Centre Village, on Route 940, wrong the municipality of Tantramar.

It's wherever the Maritimes and Northeast earthy state pipeline crosses paths with an N.B. Power transmission line.

The works would gully state from that pipeline to tally 10 turbines that would make powerfulness to merchantability connected the grid nether a 25-year acquisition agreement.

The appraisal submission says the Tantramar tract was chosen aft consultations with the Mi'kmaw council, which said determination would beryllium less biology impacts than astatine the Scoudouc site.

If the works is approved, preliminary enactment would commencement successful aboriginal 2026, and it would beryllium operating by the 3rd 4th of 2028.

MacIsaac said his fig of a 250,000-tonne nett simplification successful N.B. Power's greenhouse state emissions came from ProEnergy's discussions with the utility.

A inferior spokesperson gave that fig past twelvemonth and said the simplification would travel from avoiding the usage of ember astatine the Belledune procreation presumption and substance lipid astatine Coleson Cove — some of which emit much c dioxide — to backmost up renewables.

But that calculation was based connected what the spokesperson said would beryllium 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse state emissions from the state works itself successful its archetypal twelvemonth of operation.

ProEnergy's appraisal papers says it would emit much than 910,000 tonnes.

Neither MacIsaac nor Coady were capable to explicate the quality successful the 2 figures.

N.B. Power officials said successful 2023 that they had travel adjacent to not being capable to conscionable the request for energy successful the state during a February acold snap.

Since then, the inferior has faced lengthy shutdowns astatine 2 powerfulness plants and is present readying for the phaseout of ember from its Belledune generating presumption by 2030.

The exertion says the inferior had calculated it would request much procreation successful the aboriginal 2030s but present believes it whitethorn necessitate it by the wintertime of 2028.

Asking radical to chopped backmost connected depletion wouldn't trim request enough, it says.

Coady said N.B. Power would usage 400 megawatts from the plant, astir 80 per cent of its capacity, and the further 100 megawatts could beryllium portion of a aboriginal statement to proviso different provinces.

"There's imaginable there, there's accidental there, and I'll accidental we're moving connected it." 

The task volition spell done a national biology interaction assessment. Provincially, the situation curate tin waive the request for a abstracted process based connected the proposal of a method reappraisal committee.

The works volition besides usage ultra-low sulphur diesel arsenic a backup fuel.

It could yet usage hydrogen — a state often touted arsenic an adjacent cleaner alternate — but the submission says it is "currently not technically oregon economically feasible."