https://globalnews.ca/news/4829502/manitoba-hydro-coal/
[audio clip in online article]
Manitoba no longer using coal for power
By Abigail Turner Writer/Producer Global News
January 9, 2019 7:19 am
Manitoba no longer has coal-burning power operations, as Manitoba Hydro
says it has quit using its final coal-burning unit.
Bruce Owen told Global News the unit finished operation on Aug. 1, 2018,
after nearly 50 years of operation in Brandon.
Owen says the change was made following commercial in-service of the
Bipole III transmission line July 4, 2018.
The Brandon Generating Station was the first thermal-electric station to
be built by Manitoba Hydro, starting in 1958.
Owen says it was a steam generator, burning coal to heat water to
convert steam energy into electricity.
“Since 2009, it ran only in support of emergency operations such as
during a transmission outage,” Owen told Global News.
He says the unit will now be converted a synchronous condenser, using a
boiler and turbine as a motor, instead of coal.
Owen says he expects this operation to last until 2045.
========================================================
https://www.brandonsun.com/local/coal-generator-shut-down-since-august-504086842.html
[images in online article]
Coal generator shut down since August
By: Drew May
Posted: 01/9/2019 3:00 AM |
The province has closed the chapter on coal-powered energy production,
with Manitoba Hydro silently shutting down Brandon’s coal generators
last year.
The Brandon Generating Station’s coal generators were taken offline Aug.
1, more than six months ahead of schedule, The Sun learned this week.
Manitoba Hydro media relations officer Bruce Owen said the Brandon coal
generators were shut down after the Bipole III transmission line came
online July 4, 2018, making the province’s last coal generator, known as
Unit 5, no longer necessary for southern Manitoba’s energy security.
The provincial Crown had not previously made the news public.
"With federal legislation and provincial legislation regarding carbon,
the end of coal was coming ... this year, but with Bipole III coming
into service it was sped up," Owen said.
Two natural gas generators were commissioned to replace the coal
capability at the Brandon plant in 2002. Owen said the two natural gas
generators are now mainly only turned on to stabilize the power grid in
case of a significant outage, or to supplement the power supply during
times of very high energy use. They are also turned on periodically for
training and to make sure they still work.
Bipole III is a transmission line that brings power from hydroelectric
dams in northern Manitoba to the southern part of the province.
The line, which was commissioned under the previous NDP provincial
government, was called a "boondoggle" by Premier Brian Pallister when he
was leader of the opposition in 2014.
The massive $4.6-billion project was switched on last summer, with
little public fanfare.
Owen said Unit 5 — the old coal generator — will be converted to a
synchronous condenser, which will run as a motor synched to the power
grid to help stabilize power supply. He said it is planned to operate as
such until approximately 2045.
Brandon’s other coal-powered facilities —units 1 through 4 —were shut
down between 1992 and 1996.
The remaining coal at the east end Brandon facility was either sold off
or disposed of when the generator was taken offline, and Owen said there
is very little left at the building.
Coun. Jan Chaboyer (Green Acres) said she thought it was a good thing
the coal generators in her ward were formally shut down because of the
environmental impacts burning the fossil fuel brings, but added she was
concerned about the loss of any jobs associated with the old generator.
Owen said he didn’t know if there were any job losses in Brandon when
the coal generator shut down, but clarified there have been job cuts at
Manitoba Hydro recently.
Curt Hull, project manager at Climate Change Connection in Winnipeg,
said it’s a good thing for the environment the Brandon coal generator —
the province’s last — was taken offline, but there is much the province
still has to do when it comes to climate change.
He said the natural gas generators still release greenhouse gases when
they are turned on, but are still better for the environment than
burning coal, which is one of the dirtiest forms of electricity.
"Even though we only had it set up for emergency use, it’s good to
remove it to the dustbin of history," he said. "Any fossil fuels we burn
is a bad thing, but any reduction is a good thing."
