environmental performance
Sustainable Energy Commitments
In just a couple of years,
Enbridge Gas Distribution’s
Toronto headquarters expects
to be producing its own power
and selling the surplus to
the Toronto Hydro grid. And
it’s all thanks to fuel cell technology – an environmentally
friendly source of power.
“The fuel cell will be located in a corner of the parking
lot,” explains David Teichroeb, Business Development, Fuel
Cell Markets.
These fuel cells are large, stationary power plants that
internally convert natural gas to hydrogen, which is then
converted into electricity and useful heat energy without
combustion. They produce almost no smog emissions, have
reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to high efficiencies, and
are quiet, making them acceptable in urban settings.
“Enbridge will integrate the fuel cell with a second
technology to create a hybrid fuel cell plant with increased
environmental benefits,” says David. “In addition to the fuel cell,
we will be recovering waste energy from our gas
distribution pipelines and converting it directly into additional
low-impact electricity.”
Energy is recovered with ‘turbo expander’ technology, which
is basically a direct conversion technology like a water or wind
turbine. Natural gas flows past the turbine where we reduce gas
pressure in our system, and the turbine converts this energy into
a rotary force that powers a generator. Additional benefits
result from the fuel cell’s heat energy offsetting natural gas
consumption in the company’s existing boiler plants.
This multi-phase project is currently under construction with
commissioning set for the second quarter of 2007. Once the
power purchase agreements are in place, the second phase can
conclude in 2008 with the fuel cell installation.
Enbridge is working with FuelCell Energy, Inc. to develop
the hybrid system. David says that once it is operational, it will
produce between 13,000 and 15,000 megawatt hours per year.
That’s enough power to supply approximately 1,500 homes. The
company has plans to replicate this project throughout its
network providing electricity with low environmental impacts to
over 35,000 homes.
It’s just another way Enbridge is working to develop clean
energy sources.
At Enbridge, we believe in doing our part to contribute to the future by investing in renewable
and alternative energy sources that complement our core operations and provide environmental
benefits, thus helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the issue of global climate change.
Enbridge is currently involved in four wind power projects in Canada –
three through its affiliate Enbridge Income Fund. An additional project is
being built in Ontario. Together these projects have a combined capacity of
more than 270 megawatts (MW), enough electricity to meet the power
requirements for about 100,000 homes.
Wind-generated electricity is the fastest growing sector of electricity
generation in North America. Substantial technological advances and
government incentives have enabled wind power projects to become
economically attractive investments.
As of June 2006, Enbridge’s investments, along with those of our joint
venture partners, represented about 4.4 per cent of Canada’s installed
wind power capacity. Over the long term, we are committed to accelerating
Enbridge’s wind power investments to further our company’s CSR strategy
and capitalize on opportunities for economically attractive growth in the wind power sector. In pursuing emerging wind power opportunities in Canada
and the United States, our strategy is to:
- focus on project opportunities near existing Enbridge infrastructure;
- partner with industry peers and local developers to manage our risk exposure;
- arrange power purchase agreements within our company to backstop our investments; and
- pursue long-term power purchase agreements with third-party entities.
SunBridge and Magrath wind power
In a partnership with Suncor Energy, the Fund owns 50 per cent of the Enbridge-operated
11.2-MW SunBridge wind power project near Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.
The Fund, Suncor Energy and ACCIONA Energy are equal partners in the 30-MW Magrath
wind power project, located southwest of Lethbridge, Alberta. Enbridge has contracted under a
20-year agreement to purchase one-third of the project’s output to supply power to our Alberta
pipeline system. A long-term contract of this type reduces risk for the wind project and provides
our pipelines with a source of electricity at a stable price.
Investing in the Chin Chute wind power project
Enbridge teamed up again with Suncor Energy and ACCIONA to build the 30-MW Chin
Chute wind power plant, located west of Taber in southern Alberta. The Fund now owns a
one-third interest in the $60-million project, which is scheduled to be operational by November
2006. Chin Chute will be operated by ACCIONA Energy, which is the renewable energy subsidiary of Spain’s ACCIONA Group.
Like the Magrath project, Chin Chute consists
of 20 1.5-MW wind turbines that use advanced wind
power technology to combine high electrical output,
low noise levels and a small footprint on the land.
Chin Chute is expected to produce enough zero emission
electricity to power 14,000 Alberta homes
and displace the equivalent of 88,000 tonnes of carbon
dioxide per year – equal to taking about 13,000
vehicles off the road. With completion of the Chin
Chute project, the Fund’s share of electrical capacity
from its three wind power plants will be 25.6 MW.
Investing in the Ontario Wind Power project
In November 2005, our company announced we
will develop 200 MW of wind power on the eastern
shore of Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario.
Enbridge owns a 100-per-cent working interest
in the $400-million Ontario Wind Power project that
will build 121 wind turbine generators dispersed over a
17,000-hectare (35,000-acre) area in the Municipality
of Kincardine.
We have executed a 20-year electricity purchase
agreement with the Ontario Power Authority for all of
the power produced by the project, which will supply
enough renewable energy to supply 70,000 homes and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking
about 33,000 vehicles off the road.
Following environmental assessments and public
consultation, Enbridge expects to begin commercial
operations in 2007.
Preparing for growth opportunities
We are exploring other wind power opportunities
in Canada and the United States.
We have purchased wind data, wind monitoring
equipment and 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of wind
resource properties in south-central Manitoba. Enbridge
has subsequently acquired 9,700 hectares (24,000
acres) of wind lease options in the province. We have
also signed a memorandum of understanding with a
Manitoba-based developer to jointly develop wind
power resources in the province. These achievements
position Enbridge for what could potentially be
substantial wind growth opportunities in that province.
Enbridge is always ready to go the extra mile to streamline
processes that improve operations and provide benefits to our
community partners.
One of our partners is the United States Forest Service. Our
Lakehead liquids pipeline corridor runs through three National
Forests – the Chippewa, Ottawa and Hiawatha – spanning
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
One of the most challenging regulatory processes facing
pipeline construction and maintenance in the United States is
obtaining approval for work conducted on National Forest lands.
Federal law dictates that any work conducted on these lands
must be reviewed and approved through the provisions
specified in the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).
While well accepted for large-scale new construction, this
process has made it difficult to execute critical and timely
repairs to pipelines. Obtaining maintenance project approval
could take weeks or even months.
As a result, Enbridge and National Forest staff asked the
question: is there a way to make the review process more
efficient to expedite repair projects, while still meeting the
provisions of NEPA? The answer was “yes” – by working together
to develop National Forest Operations and Maintenance Plans
that established mutually-agreed review and response timeframes,
as well as best management practices.
As a result, each National Forest now can provide immediate
approval for repair work conducted on nearly 80 per cent of
the lands along the Lakehead pipeline corridor, thereby allowing
us to schedule maintenance work in a timely manner while
minimizing National Forest staff workload.
This successful outcome demonstrates how, by fostering
mutually-respectful relationships, we can facilitate continued
safe operation of our pipeline system.
Along with our company’s investments in wind power, Enbridge is leading an effort to transform
its natural gas pipeline operations by integrating multi-megawatt fuel cell power plants within our
pipeline infrastructure. We are working with FuelCell
Energy, Inc. to develop a new hybrid fuel cell plant that
will recover waste energy from gas distribution pipelines,
and convert this waste energy into electricity
with very low environmental impacts. This new
product is called the Direct FuelCell®-Energy Recovery
Generation (DFC®-ERG) power plant, and Enbridge
is its exclusive distributor. The first phase of this
hybrid plant is under construction at Enbridge Gas
Distribution’s Toronto headquarters, and is expected
to be operational in 2007, producing 900 kilowatts to
supply power to the building with any excess being sold
to the Toronto Hydro grid. A planned second phase
would double the electricity output, and we are
working with government and industry stakeholders
to further develop the technology.
A key barrier to industry’s adoption of fuel cell
technologies is the lack of a level playing field with
other low-impact electricity supplies such as wind
and biomass systems. Fuel cells have environmental
attributes that are similar to many renewable technologies,
including near-zero smog emissions, reduced
greenhouse gases, and quiet operations that are suitable
for urban centres. Enbridge’s hybrid fuel cell plant will
be a key educational tool to help governments increase
their understanding of the environmental benefits that
can be achieved with fuel cells. Policies that support
a portfolio of low-impact electricity solutions, where
both renewables and high-efficiency, near-zero emission
fossil energy systems are embraced, can accelerate industry’s
investments in these clean energy technologies.
By working with stakeholder groups such as
Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Canada, the national fuel cell
industry association, Enbridge is helping to ensure that
the energy sector understands how fuel cell technology
is maturing. Today, although large, multi-megawatt fuel
cells require an investment premium, just as many
renewable energy technologies do, the technology is
establishing a track record for the reliable production
of clean electricity capacity. Recognition of the growing
maturity of the technology can be found in the
Ontario Power Authority’s Supply Mix Advice Report. Released in 2005, the report recommended
500 megawatts of fuel cells within the provincial energy mix.
Distributed energy sources are small-scale power generation technologies – generators fuelled
by natural gas or diesel, or alternative and renewable technologies such as fuel cells and solar
photovoltaic cells – located close to homes or businesses. They are an important emerging energy
option that can provide customers with reliable, local energy supplies while lowering overall emissions
of air pollutants.
Developing a market for on-site natural gas generation
Enbridge Gas Distribution has been working with various government and regulatory agencies
to allow on-site natural gas generation to play a greater role in supporting Ontario’s electricity grid.
There is also increasing use of on-site natural gas generators for “demand response”, which is on-site
electrical production to reduce demand from the electric grid during peak hours.
Supporting energy diversification in Ontario
Large gas-fired “merchant generation”, which is production of electricity for sale into the electricity
grid, is expected to become more important in Ontario as older coal-fired generation facilities are
replaced with alternative energy technologies. Much of this new capacity is expected to be supplied by
natural gas plants. Enbridge Gas Distribution continues to work with project proponents and other
industry stakeholders to build facilities and develop rates and services to serve new gas-fired generation.
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