NL Hydro says it will have to rely on expansion of Bay d’Espoir and the continued operation of the Holyrood Thermal Generating Plant for backup, due to continued reliability concerns with the Labrador-Island Link and an expected surge in demand due to shifts from carbon fuels to electrification.
NL Hydro filed its 339-page Reliability and Resource Adequacy Study to the PUB, outlining its recommendations for what’s needed to provide reliable service to customers over the next ten years.
With requirements to reach net-zero by 2035, the country will need an extra 121 Terrawatts of power, the equivalent of four Churchill Falls.
(Labrador Island Link. Photo via Nalcor.)
The first incremental step to meet demand says CEO Jennifer Williams is the expansion of Bay d’Espoir, with Holyrood as a “bridging solution” for back-up power until new sources of generation are developed. It will take 5 to 8 years before that extra capacity will be built.
Hydro admits “there are too many unknowns” with the LIL. The big question, Williams admits, is how the province will pay for the transition.
Further steps will be required with Gull Island as a possible national solution.
A third-party marketing firm out of Boston has been engaged to see what other options are available.
