The federal government said they plan to respond to concerns voiced by Alternatives North over the Taltson Hydro Expansion project. In a letter submitted to Prime Minister Mark Carney, the local N.W.T. organization questioned the proposed hydro project’s environmental impact and, with its estimated price tag of over $2 billion, questioned its economic feasibility.
“We appreciate the points raised by Alternatives North regarding the Taltson Hydro Expansion project. There will be no one single solution as to how we move forward to meet future energy needs, improve Arctic security, and support a stronger, more inclusive economy for northern and Indigenous communities,” said Jennifer Cooper of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.
Cooper told True North FM that a letter was received from Alternatives North by the Prime Minister’s office and a response by the federal government is “under development.” The letter has been forwarded to Minister Rebecca Chartrand, who is the minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs.
“We will continue to support Indigenous and community-led solutions but also recognize the potential that larger-scale projects like the Taltson Hydro Expansion could have in meeting Canada’s climate goals, economic priorities, and the needs of Northerners,” added Cooper.
According to the GNWT website, the Talston expansion will provide an additional 60 MW of “clean hydro energy” removing up to 240,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year but Dr. Robert Bromley of Alternatives North says the scale of the proposed project could pose environmental risks.
Bromley told True North FM that the use of newer technologies and advancements in the field of energy could also offer more benefits to residents of the N.W.T.
Bromley suggested that solar and wind energy projects like the those innovated by Diavik Diamond recently would be more economical and more environmentally friendly. Diavik’s solar power systems alone are known to generate 4.2 million kilowatt-hours annually. According to researchers, the solar energy system is saving one million liters of diesel fuel annually, reducing 2,900 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
The proposed Talston expansion is among initiatives considered by Ottawa as potential “nation building” projects. Bromley pointed out the proposed expansion has been “on the books” for over 20 years and Alternative North has been critical of it for some time.
“It’s a sort of mega project that is aimed at hopes. There’s no demonstrated need for it,” said Bromley.
“Our concerns are first of all, with cost and risk. There’s a demonstrated need that these sorts of projects come in, typically at least twice the cost estimates.”
With an estimated cost upwards of $2 billion, critics like Bromley believe there is no need for such a cost and not enough of a customer base in the territories, with its population of under 50,000 people, to justify it.
Bromley asserted that there are also environmental risks invovled, such as Impacts from increased emissions, through the flooding of land and biological activity that activates the carbon in the soil.
Doug Prendergast, communication manager for NTPC, told True North FM, that Taltson Hydro has provided “safe and reliable” power to South Slave communities for decades. Prendergast said that the environmental impact of the facility has been regulated by both the territorial and federal governments for many years. The Talston facility was first opened about 60 years ago.
According to the GNWT website, the Talston expansion will provide an additional 60 MW of “clean hydro energy” and could remove potentially up to 240,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The new transmission line would connect the Taltson system to the North Slave hydro system.
With hydropower also being a source of clean energy, Bromley said that it’s the scale of the Talston hydro project and the potential for flooding that folks at Alternatives North are concerned about.
Bromley said mercury is present at the headwaters, the flooded zone of the Talston River, proposed for greater expansion. Bromley said when they built the Talston system many years ago, it caused flooding above the dam, which released mercury into the water.
“Because of the flooding, it activated mercury, that had been in the soil. Mercury, naturally gets distributed across the globe from pollution and tends to circulate here. Because of circulation, patterns tends to settle out in the north. That mercury is now activated through biological activity, which also converts it into a more toxic form. It accumulates in fish and people use the fish in the Talston River and so on.”
Through circulation patterns, the North tends to accumulate mercury and the degree of flooding will influence how much of that mercury is released in the water.
“The Proposal is to expand that operation and build a larger infrastructure there and more flooding. So that would create much more mercury pollution,” said Bromley.
Bromley said another concern is that even if the project goes ahead the maintenance costs will not be manageable.
“The costs, for example, of transmission lines will be very steep and steep to maintain as well because they go through some of the most remote and challenging terrain in the world,” Bromley pointed out.
Bromley said that estimates show that the generation of wind power could cost as low as 2.5 to 3 cents per kilowatt, per kilowatt hour, but currently the public pays at least 35 cents per kilowatt hour.
The letter from Alternatives North focused on the federal government because the decision is primarily in their court. In 2019, the organization sent a similar letter to the GNWT.
“Looking at various feasibility studies, they’ve rejected the project at least twice. I was a member of the legislative assembly from 2007 to 2015, and the project was rejected and somehow it keeps emerging again,” reflected Bromley.
Because the scale of the project would not likely be able to be handled by local firms, Bromley said he fears the funding will likely go to companies in the south.
“Again we recognise that GNWT wants to seize the need for green power and affordable power. We just would like to see them develop a much better approach that’s in line with the principles and interests of the people and communities of Northwest Territories.”
