New combustion turbine just one option being studied by N.L. Hydro, says CEO

The CEO of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says a new diesel-powered combustion turbine on the Avalon Peninsula is only a consideration at this point in time, as the Crown corporation seeks to meet an expected surge in electricity demand.

She also says the new power plant being studied, while powered by diesel in the short term, would likely transition to renewable fuels in the future.

Radio-Canada reported Tuesday that Hydro was mulling over the idea of a new combustion turbine, which could produce nearly as much electricity as the 490-megawatt Holyrood Thermal Generating Station, slated to close in 2030.

Speaking with the media Wednesday, Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams said the turbine is one of several options the corporation is studying to help address rising demands for power in the province. She said there are currently about 20 different studies underway.

"I don't think anybody should be too worried that we're looking at these kinds of options. I think the lessons of the past show us we have to look at everything that's possible and viable, from a reliability and a cost perspective," Williams said.

If it were to be built, she said, it would not replace Holyrood, which burns sulphur fuel. 

"What we are doing is we are looking at all possible options for future supply of what's coming for us."

Hydro has told the Public Utilities Board it will need to nearly double its current electricity supply to compensate for the increase of electric vehicles and other future clean energy initiatives.

Combustion turbines are used in other places across Canada as an emergency backup in times of peak energy usage, Williams said, adding that's a potential usage case they're exploring if it were to be developed.

"It's not driven necessarily because this is something that we're adamant that we want — these are questions that are being asked of us appropriately. And so we have to answer those questions. We can't just say, 'Ah, we don't think that that's viable.' We actually have to do the work and the study."

Williams said there are other pieces of the puzzle — including those related to a turbine — that would need to be figured out over the next several decades to ensure residents have access to the power they need.

For example, she said, Hydro also has to consider whether a combustion turbine could be converted to operate on renewable energy — like hydrogen that could be produced in Newfoundland — as better technology develops.

Speaking at an update on wind-hydrogen projects Wednesday, Energy Minister Andrew Parsons said he hasn't spoken to Hydro about the potential of a turbine but would defer those talks to Hydro and the Public Utilities Board for the time being.

"I'm not saying I'm completely against it. Obviously it doesn't sound like what we want to do, but I think at some stage we need to make [the] decision to move forward,"  Parsons said.

"It's easy to say we shouldn't be looking at diesel, but I also think that we have to look at the facts as we find them — and deal with the big issue that I am increasingly and always concerned with. That's reliability."

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