Improving energy efficiency of our liquids pipelines

Pipelines use significant amounts of energy to transport oil and other liquids over long distances. As a result, one of the major opportunities for managing GHG emissions in our liquids pipelines is to improve energy efficiencies. In 2006, through improvements to our Liquids Pipelines system in Canada, including improving pumping efficiencies, we realized savings of almost 38.5 gigawatt hours (GWh), enough electricity for about 3,410 houses a year and an efficiency improvement of 2.2 per cent.

Replacing cast iron pipe in our gas distribution system

Natural gas is mostly methane (about 95 per cent), a significant GHG. This presents Enbridge with another important opportunity to minimize GHG emissions from our systems by limiting the release of natural gas into the atmosphere.

In our Enbridge Gas Distribution system, one of the ways we are reducing fugitive methane emissions is by replacing older cast iron pipe with new polyethylene and steel pipe. Since the start of this program, we have replaced 1,408 kilometres (874 miles) of our cast iron mains in Ontario. In 2006 alone, these replacement activities avoided the loss of 626,000 cubic metres of natural gas, the equivalent of avoiding 8.92 kilotonnes of CO₂e. In total, this program has resulted in the avoidance of 85.3 kilotonnes of CO₂e. This program is expected to be completed in 2012.

Encouraging the efficient use of natural gas by customers

We also reduce GHG emissions by helping our 1.8 million Enbridge Gas Distribution customers implement demand-side management (DSM) programs. These use a combination of tools, including information, audits and financial incentives, to encourage and enable customers to use natural gas more efficiently. Over the past 11 years, these programs have delivered 2.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas savings. This has resulted in “avoided” CO₂ (combustion) emissions of about 5.5 million tonnes – the equivalent of removing about 1.2 million cars from Ontario’s roads for a year.

Promoting renewable energy

Investing in emissions-free renewable energy is an important part of our contribution to mitigating the causes of climate change.

By 2007, Enbridge and Enbridge Income Fund investments in wind power had the capacity to generate 70 MW, avoiding two megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year. By 2008, with the addition of the Ontario Wind Power project, our total capacity will be just over 250 MW, which means we will be avoiding 3.6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year.

Enbridge Gas Distribution is also reviewing the role that renewable technologies could play in generating energy in a revitalized and refocused Ontario energy marketplace. Experience from elsewhere leads us to believe that new commercial opportunities exist in several areas:

• We are using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at three different sites across the organization and are looking for ways to expand their use to our office buildings.
• We are investing in studies to determine appropriate ways of combining new natural gas-based technologies with renewable technologies such as geothermal and solar thermal in a local district energy framework and also at gate stations on our own system.
• We continue to look for opportunities where the deployment of fuel cells can deliver energy into the local grid.

(Please see the Sustainable Energy Commitments section of this report for more information about our commitment to renewable energy.)

Fixing gas leaks in gathering pipelines

We are committed to minimizing our environmental impacts through participation in voluntary programs that promote GHG emission reductions, spill prevention and pipeline integrity. Lowering air emissions and reducing loss of product is better for the environment, good for our customers and good for our bottom line.

Our United States Gas Transportation Business is an active participant in the EPA’s Natural Gas STAR Program, introduced to encourage U.S. companies that produce, process, and transmit and distribute natural gas to implement cost-effective technologies and practices that reduce emissions of methane.

Since the STAR program’s inception in 1993, 110 partner companies have eliminated 13.3 billion cubic metres (471 billion cubic feet) of methane emissions – the equivalent of removing more than 34 million cars from the road for one year or planting more than 51.7 million acres of trees. In 2005, partner companies saved over US$560 million by keeping more gas in their systems for sale in the market. Our United States Gas Transportation Business has been a STAR program partner since late 2003, when we enrolled our 35 gas processing plants and 13,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) of intrastate pipelines in the program.

In 2006, our STAR program activities helped us avoid the loss of an estimated 62 million cubic metres (2.2 billion cubic feet) of methane or about 883,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. Most of these reductions resulted from our use of aerial infrared imaging to identify pipeline methane leaks. In 2006, we conducted 20 pipeline surveys, flying over approximately 2,900 kilometres (1,800 miles) of lines and discovering and repairing 41 leaks.

CARBON MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

We view the development of a carbon management strategy to identify the risks and opportunities associated with our GHG emissions as an integral part of our broader commitment to CSR. This strategy is under development by our Climate Change Sub-Committee, but is dependent ultimately in part on the final regulatory environment of the different jurisdictions within which Enbridge operates. These are still evolving.