The case for restarting the Conawapa hydro project

Opinion

For most of the last century, Manitoba politicians have championed the province’s energy advantage — clean, green, electricity generated by moving water in our rivers. The current government seems to be considering other mega projects while largely ignoring the benefits of supporting and expanding the capacity of our public utility, Manitoba Hydro.

The government’s apparent reluctance to proceed with the next planned hydro development project on the Nelson River, Conawapa, is perplexing. Even the government’s own Affordable Energy Plan acknowledges the significance of Manitoba Hydro, stating: “Working together, we built Manitoba Hydro’s clean energy grid — an investment that has paid off for generations in good jobs, affordable rates, and reliable energy.”

There are numerous reasons why proceeding with the development of another hydro project downstream on the Nelson River makes sense. First, Manitoba Hydro has already informed the province that it needs to develop additional generating capacity to meet the growing needs of our province. Like other utilities worldwide, Manitoba Hydro is facing ever-increasing demand for reliable and affordable electricity. The consensus is that our clean energy demands will double in the next 25 years, driven by the rise of electric vehicles and the need for energy to heat and cool our homes and meet the demand for energy that drives information technologies.

Globally, dozens of hydroelectric projects are currently under development. In Canada, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are proposing new generation projects and updates to their hydro grids, not only to meet local demand but to generate revenue from power exports to neighbouring regions. The total investment is estimated to exceed $200 billion. Additionally, the federal government has signalled that creating a national energy grid should be a national priority.

Our neighbours to the west, east, and south require clean energy. In the north, intermittent power from solar or wind projects cannot provide the energy certainty that Manitoba Hydro offers. No energy-intensive business, or large-scale industrial project is likely to come to Manitoba without the kind of energy supply certainty that Manitoba Hydro can provide. Similarly, if the hopes for the Port of Churchill and the expansion of trade at its port are realized, it is likely that growth in Churchill, and further North, will require more firm power.

In addition, the federal government is working to streamline investment and environmental reviews to accelerate the completion of major infrastructure projects. Because some preparatory work on Conawapa has already been done, including some preliminary joint environmental assessments done on the Keeyask and Conawapa projects, Manitoba Hydro could move quickly to complete planning and begin construction. This has the added benefit of creating employment and economic growth in Manitoba over the next few years. Hydroelectric development has historically spurred growth in various sectors of the economy, creating both job opportunities and job training programs.

Moreover, interest rates are low, and the federal government is actively seeking projects that will build Canada. Clearly, building an electrical energy grid that can supply power to neighbouring provinces and the United States should be prioritized over other energy alternatives, such as pipelines. Manitoba Hydro already sells hydro power to Saskatchewan , Ontario and the USA.

The sale of firm power to other jurisdictions is not a trivial matter. The Limestone generating station, which started producing power in 1991 and cost about $1.2 billion to construct, has returned more than that amount in export revenue to Manitoba Hydro since that time. A recent Manitoba Hydro report confirmed that revenue from power exports has added billions of dollars to Manitoba Hydro revenue. As a Manitoba Hydro report states, “Every dollar we make goes back into running Manitoba Hydro to keep rates low for our customers in Manitoba. We sell our power to utilities in the United States, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. Without our export sales, your electricity rates would be about 20 per cent higher than they are today.”

While building dams and altering water regimes has had negative consequences, the development of additional hydroelectric generating capacity on the Nelson River would create minimal environmental or community disruption. Manitoba Hydro has already constructed four hydro stations on the lower Nelson River: Keeyask, Kettle, Long Spruce, and Limestone. Like Limestone, the construction of Conawapa would not require the storage of additional water.

Conawapa and similar downstream projects are considered “run-of-the-river” stations, meaning they do not create significant flooding. Conawapa, which has been part of Manitoba Hydro’s long-term planning for decades, will only flood a small amount of land. For comparison, the recently-built Keeyask hydro generating project, supported by five First Nations in the region, flooded approximately 45 square kilometres of land. In contrast, Conawapa is expected to affect only about three square kilometres along the Nelson River and its tributaries. To put this into perspective, the development of the Waverley West subdivision in Winnipeg used approximately 12 square kilometres of prime agricultural land.

The damage caused by the construction of Manitoba Hydro’s water power reserves, which stores water in Lake Winnipeg and Southern Indian Lake, was significant when it was built more than 50 years ago. While it is important to acknowledge the consequences of previous decisions, particularly for Indigenous communities, the damage has been done. Manitoba Hydro has already paid hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for those decisions. In terms of the proposed Conawapa generating station, there are no communities near dam site and with four generating stations upstream from Conawapa, the environmental impact of an additional dam on the Nelson River cannot be used as justification for halting the development of Conawapa.

And, while hydroelectric power is green and reliable, this does not negate the value of adding wind and solar capacity. Wind and solar are logical supplements and can be used to make the export of power more beneficial. Support for wind and solar generation, particularly at the household and industrial levels, should be expanded by the province as part of Manitoba Hydro’s mandate. Private profit paid to power wind corporations or partners is not consistent with the notion of a public entity protecting the interest of its shareholders, all Manitobans.

The public ownership of Manitoba Hydro has been a key strength for our province, allowing us to leverage our hydro advantage for more than a century. It is essential to keep Manitoba Hydro public. Providing the green light to build Conawapa, and allowing the corporation to expand its wind and solar capacity is forward thinking and supports the mandate of Manitoba Hydro to provide affordable and reliable energy to all Manitobans.

It is worth remembering that our oldest generating stations are almost a century old, and still producing power from our rivers. Let’s build Conawapa for the current generation, our grandchildren and the century to come.

Jerry Storie is the former MLA for Flin Flon and represented the community of South Indian Lake for many years and also served as the Minister Responsible for Manitoba Hydro.