SAINT JOHN - New Brunswick is not standing in the way of Prince Edward Island selling its green wind energy to the power-hungry New England states, says New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Graham said in response to a question by The Guardian.

During a conference that touted regional energy co-operation in Saint John, N.B., Tuesday, Graham said last year NB Power had surplus capacity on the transmission system. He said that access was put up for auction, an auction that all jurisdictions could bid on.

But nobody from Prince Edward Island put in a bid.

He said the province of Quebec purchased the excess capacity and now holds the rights to that transmission capacity, even though it is not using it.

"(Quebec) has entered into a long-term contract ... which has helped us pay down the investment that the government of New Brunswick made in building that new transmission capacity."

The P.E.I. government wants to increase its wind power production to 500 megawatts by 2013.

The Island doesn't need that much power, so it wants to sell the surplus - about 400 MW. It would be exported through New Brunswick to New England.
Premier Robert Ghiz said Prince Edward Island is already transporting green energy to the New England states.

But as the amount of wind power grows, so too must the transmission lines to get it into the U.S.

Suez Energy's West Prince wind farm is producing about 99 MW of electricity. About nine megawatts is being sold to the City of Summerside. The remaining 90 MW is currently being sold to the U.S.

Electricity produced from the two publicly-owned wind farms in North Cape and East Point are being used on the Island.

"Right now, if any of our private companies in Prince Edward Island that are producing green energy, they have the capability to negotiate with New Brunswick Power to send energy through their corridor," said Ghiz.

"Yes, (the transmission capacity) has been purchased by Quebec but it's not totally being used."

Ghiz said his province wasn't ready to purchase space on New Brunswick's grid last year. He said one of the main reasons is because the province is still in talks with the federal government to expand the capacity of the undersea cable between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.

In 2005, the federal Liberal government promised $30 million for a new transmission cable between P.E.I. and N.B., but it was cancelled when the Conservatives took power in Ottawa in 2006.

"There's no point owning a line if we can't even get to the line," said Ghiz.
Such a transmission line would not only be good for exporting wind power, it would help P.E.I. import more energy from more markets, said Maritime Electric's John Gaudet.

"For Prince Edward Island, this is a much-needed piece of infrastructure," Gaudet said in earlier interview.

"We see it as providing a secure future for additional energy supply procurement off-Island from either New Brunswick or Maine or Nova Scotia, for meeting the needs of P.E.I. electricity consumers."

The province has requested federal stimulus funding for a new energy transmission line between New Brunswick and P.E.I.

As new capacity becomes available in New Brunswick, that province's premier said other provinces including Prince Edward Island will have an opportunity to bid on it.

"New transmission capacity is key to the economic viability and success of this region," said Graham.

"It's not just transmission of electrons of electricity, in an energy corridor we're looking at hydrogen, natural gas and other energy sources."