The Conservation Council has submitted comments on NB Power’s 2017 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
Following input from experts and the public, NB Power’s IRP will explore new ways to lower electricity bills, describe the role NB Power and its customers will play in responding to climate change, and ensure at least 40 per cent of the utility’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources.
“The Conservation Council believes New Brunswick, and NB Power, have an important opportunity to create a clean electricity system in line with national and international climate change commitments, that improves the health and well-being of ratepayers, and that creates long-term sustainable jobs in our province,” says Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council, in the submission.
The Conservation Council’s recommendations for accelerating a provincial electrification strategy include:
- A nationwide investment in energy efficiency through building retrofits
- Accelerating investments in the Smart Grid (the Energy Internet) to give the electricity system the capacity it needs to significantly increase the supply of renewable energy (aiming for 100 per cent renewable).
- Expand regional investment in renewable energy, with NB Power working with suppliers to develop home equity loan and/or leasing programs, and power purchase agreements aimed at lowering payback periods from the current 13 to 15 years to between five and 10 years.
- Accelerated scale-up of electricity transportation infrastructure and incentives to increase the sale of electric and low-emission hybrid vehicles.
- Community economic development and worker transition investments to maximize job creation from energy efficiency and renewable electricity investments.
Read the Conservation Council’s complete letter to NB Power commenting on the 2017 Integrated Resource Plan, here.
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For more ideas on the Conservation Councils’ position on climate change and energy solutions in New Brunswick:
- Download the Conservation Council’s climate action plan: A Climate Action Plan for New Brunswick A path to a Low-Carbon Economy that creates jobs and sustains families and communities
- Download our September 9, 2016 presentation to the NB Select Committee on Climate Change: Clean Energy Solutions, by Liane Thibodeau, President of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
- Download our August 17, 2016 presentation to the NB Select Committee on Climate Change: New Brunswick’s Climate Change Solutions Opportunity, by the Conservation Council’s Executive Director, Lois Corbett, and Dr. Louise Comeau.