Member of Parliament for Souris-Moose Mountain, Ed Komarnicki said that Environment's Minister Kent's recent announcement in Saskatoon is "good news for Estevan and Saskatchewan."
"The final version of regulations in respect to greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired electricity plants is indeed good news for Estevan and Saskatchewan," said Komarnicki. "The regulations do take into account the concerns of the Government of Saskatchewan and Sask Power and go a long way to insure Boundary Dam and the carbon capture and storage project will be successful in meeting new emission standards."
Some of the significant changes Komarnicki noted include changing the performance standard from 375 tonnes per gigawatt hour to 420 tonnes per gigawatt hour, extending the end of life definition from 45 years to 50 years and allowing for due diligence to be completed with respect to Boundary Dam 3 carbon capture and sequestration project. All of this, including the two levels of government working on a Saskatchewan Equivalency Agreement with Environment Canada bodes well for the coal-fired electricity sector in Southeast Saskatchewan.
"As a Member of Parliament for this constituency with 3 coal-fired electricity plants I obviously had a particular interest in this file," he said. "Establishing a satisfactory emissions standard that we can live with is very important to this part of Saskatchewan in terms of jobs, growth and long term prosperity. In fact all of Saskatchewan will benefit from it."
"There is no doubt that our government's commitment to carbon capture and storage will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our environment while supporting high quality jobs for many families. This is a win-win situation for everyone," concluded Komarnicki.
