Why we need a new energy strategy

In general, a society’s energy consumption can be categorized into three basic energy services: transportation, heating and cooling, and electricity. The energy used to meet these services can come from a number of sources, the principal ones being oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydro (for electricity), and biomass.

Although seldom discussed, energy security (that is, ensuring access to energy sources that are both available and affordable) is an important part of any society’s economic and social well-being. However, increasing world demand for energy and rising energy prices mean that maintaining or improving energy security is becoming a challenge in many jurisdictions. A handful of jurisdictions recognize the importance of energy security to the three basic energy services. Fewer still are developing policies that will ensure their future energy security. Sadly, Nova Scotia falls into neither of these categories.

Refined petroleum products, primarily in the form of gasoline and fuel oil, meet about 80 per cent of the energy demand of Nova Scotia’s three basic energy services; the remaining 20 per cent is met by electricity. Despite the importance of transportation and heating (for both space heating and process heat for industry), the provincial government is focusing on electricity.

The government’s electricity policy (originally intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but that now makes reference to energy security) plans to increase Nova Scotia’s total electrical generation from renewable sources from about 10 per cent today to 25 per cent by 2015 and 40 per cent by 2020. According to the government’s recent Renewable Electricity Plan, about two-thirds of the electricity will come from wind and the remainder from biomass combustion by 2020.

By deciding to develop policies that focus solely on electricity, rather than first having developed a long-term provincial energy security policy that considers all energy sources and all energy services, the government has made a serious mistake.

• Being intermittent, there will be times when there is more wind-generated electricity available than is needed for the province’s demand. In the government’s plan, this electricity will be exported to New England rather than being used in Nova Scotia for transportation or heating.
• At times there will be insufficient wind available to meet the demand for electricity. In the government’s plan, this electricity will be supplied from natural gas or imports from neighbouring provinces. Given the state of the province’s natural gas supply, it is unclear where the natural gas will come from. Purchasing electricity is already an expensive proposition and will become more so in the future when Nova Scotia will be competing with jurisdictions from Rhode Island to Ontario for the same sources of electricity.
• Nova Scotia’s forests need nutrients — one possible source is ash from biomass combustion. Despite this, the government is allowing Nova Scotia Power to co-fire biomass with coal; the resulting ash is too polluted to be used in forests.
• NSP is also being allowed to purchase electricity generated from biomass. As a result, the government is ensuring that the biomass cannot be used in other services, potentially more efficiently, such as space heating.

The government claims its electricity plan will keep wealth in the province as the producers of electricity will be local. Admittedly, some wealth will remain here; however, a great deal will leave the province, both to pay for the wind turbines and to pay for electricity imports.

The government may argue that Nova Scotia is not set up to use excess electricity from wind for transportation or heating. This is correct; however, now is the time to begin the process of improving Nova Scotia’s energy security rather than increasing its grid capacity for electricity exports.

The government’s 2015 and 2020 electricity policies and plans make little sense if they fail to contribute to the energy security of all of the province’s energy services. Nova Scotia needs a new energy strategy, one that maximizes the consumption of energy produced within the province. For too many years, the energy policy of the government of the day has been to export the province’s limited energy resources: oil, natural gas, wood chips, and now electricity. This must stop.

When he announced his government’s 40 per cent renewable electricity target, Premier Darrell Dexter claimed it would put Nova Scotia in a position of "global leadership." Nothing could be further from the truth. If Premier Dexter really wants to make Nova Scotia a global leader in energy issues, he should develop comprehensive policies that put the province on the road to improving its energy security. Producing and exporting electricity from renewable sources is easy — using them to improve our energy security is another thing altogether.

This opinion piece was published by The Chronicle Herald on May 6. Larry Hughes is a professor, electrical and computer engineering department, Dalhousie University. For more information, visit http://lh.ece.dal.ca/enen.