Prince George, B.C. - With time running short for public comment on the EnCana Cabin Gas Plant proposed for northeastern B.C., the Pembina Institute is turning up the gas by letting everyone know its thoughts on the project.

 

The Pembina Institute is an environmental watch dog. According to its presentation to the Environmental Assessment office, the planned plant has serious emission issues. 

 

The Institute says at full operational capacity, the proposed plant would emit 2.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year - the equivalent of adding almost 450,000 cars to B.C. roads.

“The climate issues surrounding the EnCana Cabin Gas Plant proposal are significant” says the submission, “British Columbia has legislated  a commitment to reduce provincial greenhouse gas emissions. If approved, the EnCana Cabin Gas Plant would increase British Columbia's emissions by 3.27% (based on 2006 emissions).”

"As the province moves towards a low carbon economy, responsible long-term infrastructure and sustainable resource development decisions will be essential," says Matt Horne, the Director of British Columbia Energy Solutions at the Pembina Institute.

The Pembina Institute offers four recommendations to address the issues:

1.    Include the greenhouse gas emissions from the facility in relation to British Columbia's provincial emissions reduction targets.

2.    Require the proposed facility to meet emissions standards equivalent to a gas processing facility equipped with zero or low emissions technology such as carbon capture and storage.   

3.    Include the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the expanded upstream gas production needed to supply the processing capacity of the proposed facility.

4.    Include the greenhouse gas emissions of the end use of the gas processed by the EnCana Cabin Gas Plant.

The Environmental Assessment Office is accepting comments on the EnCana Cabin Gas Plant proposal until August 21st.

 

The plant would be constructed in phases dependant on the demand for natural gas. Phase one carries a price tag of $400 million dollars. If all six phases are built, the full cost would be in the $2 billion dollar range.

 

While construction of the plant could create about 600 jobs, once built, the facility would provide about 25 permanent positions.

 

The project would see natural gas compressed at EnCana’s compression plant, then moved by pipeline to the Cabin Gas Plant for processing before being shipped to markets.