Work at Canada’s largest — and only — liquified natural gas project on the West Coast could come to a halt as the project's backers wrangle with the BC government over a lack of electrical power lines..LNG Canada — a consortium of Shell, Mitsubishi, Kogas, PetroChina and Malaysian state oil giant Petronas — is about 85% complete and on track to begin operation by 2025, LNG Canada CEO Jason Klein said in a statement..The $40-billion project is Canada’s largest-ever energy infrastructure project and will process an initial 6.5 million tonnes per year or nearly a billion cubic feet (bcf) per day for export on oceangoing ships to Asia..A decision to expand that capacity to 26 million tonnes or nearly 2.7 bcf per day is pending a final investment decision by the partners, which in turn hinges on the provincial government to accelerate expansion of electric power in the region to help the project meet net zero commitments..“LNG Canada has identified potential opportunities to further advance electrification at our export facility in Kitimat with a Phase 2 expansion, aligned with an availability of sufficient reliable power,” Klein said in a YouTube video posted on the company’s web site.. Kitimat LNG projectCourtesy Chevron .The problem is they can’t approve it fast enough to keep up the construction pace for a targeted 2030 in service date. There are presently about 6,000 workers on site..Without electrification, the project would produce about 13 megatonnes of CO2 emissions annually, or about a fifth of BC’s entire emissions..In 2023, the province said any future expansion of the project would have to align with its climate change strategy, which calls for 40% emissions reductions by 2030. Yet, it has stalled on approving the required infrastructure to meet that goal..The company has approvals in hand to operate a second phase with gas powered turbines until enough electricity is available, but Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault said any future LNG expansions have to meet not only provincial requirements, but also federal net zero requirements..Klein told Reuters last week that the company is in “constructive” talks with the province and Crown Corp., BC Hydro, to determine costs and regulatory requirements to build large scale power lines. .In February, BC Hydro received a request from the province to invite expressions of interest from major industrial power users, including LNG Canada..“There’s a long way to go before BC Hydro is ready to talk to any of the industry players in the northwest about how that infrastructure could be built and funded and what the costs would look like,” said Klein..Klein pointed to a joint statement issued at the Western Premiers' conference in Whistler earlier this month, where the premiers called on the federal government “to work with them to secure international and domestic market access..The statement also called on the feds to invest in the energy and electricity infrastructure needed to realize the region’s economic potential, including accelerating support for generation and transmission infrastructure.”. Bennett DamThe Bennett Dam near Hudson's Hope, at 610' one of the highest earth-fill dams in the world, can produce 2,730 Mw of electrical power. Writer Herb Pinder notes that with clean, green energy to push LNG through a pipeline to the coast, and more hyrdro power at the coast to compress it, liquified natural gas from Alberta and northeastern BC will be the cleanest in the world. He asks why the Liberal government wouldn't want to develop it further. .BC Hydro is presently in the process of building the massive Site C dam on the Peace River near Fort St. John which will provide 1,100 megawatts of electricity when it is complete in 2025.
