4 ms·

Why doesn’t Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario just import most of its electricity from Manitoba?

epgui 4y ago
It's not at all obvious why you think this question is so obvious that it doesn't require a bit more context. Why would it?
- Pxtl 4y ago
  Manitoba has spectacularly cheap and plentiful hydroelectric power.
  - nine_k 4y ago
    But is there enough surplus?
    - joshlemer 4y ago
      Yes. Manitoba already exports a lot of electricity to the Minnesota, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, Ontario. It'll soon be bringing online the Keeyask dam as well which will add capacity for 400,000 more homes.
      - ztratar 4y ago
        For today. But I presume when these reactors are completed, the question is will that surplus be enough for the energy needs of ~2030. And there the answer is "we need to build more generation". No?
brutusborn 4y ago
I imagine because it is cheaper to produce locally, or Manitoba does not have spare capacity. Why do you think they should import from Manitoba?
- rob74 4y ago
  If it's cheaper to build these nuclear reactors as compared to "importing" hydro power from another Canadian province (these comments make it sound like it's another country) remains to be seen. Maybe it even looks that way from current estimates, but from past experience most estimates on the cost of building nuclear power plants are a bit optimistic...
  - brutusborn 4y ago
    This article suggests nuclear costs will go down as long as regulations are not changed mid-construction, or if grandfathering is allowed. https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/why-are-nuclear-power-construction https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/why-are-nuclear-p...
- joshlemer 4y ago
  Manitoba exports huge amounts of electricity to Ontario, SK, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and with the new Keeyask dam coming online it'll have capacity for 400,000 new homes. There's also still 1000s of MW of untapped potential in Manitoba, if investments would be made in dams and transmission.
  - brutusborn 4y ago
    The recent hydro project mentioned in the article is a lot more expensive than the Nuclear Options, although they may have cherry picked their data. It amounts to ~ 2x the cost. "BC Hydro’s 1,100 Mwe Site C dam is expected to cost $16 billion"
UberFly 4y ago
Probably to diversify and be somewhat self-sufficient.
multiplegeorges 4y ago
Canada is a surprisingly unconnected federation of almost independent provinces. We don't have a great east-west interconnection between the provinces. I mean, we have trade barriers between provinces. It's insane.
xrendan 4y ago
A big reason that Ontario can't / doesn't is that the demand centers in Southern Ontario are ridiculously far from the generation centers in Manitoba. Toronto is 1800 km straight from the new Keeyask Dam. This is over unpopulated muskeg that is expensive to build on in the first place and difficult to access for maintenance.
- joshlemer 4y ago
  Yeah, Southern Ontario is for the time being not possible but perhaps Northern Ontario.

It's not at all obvious why you think this question is so obvious that it doesn't require a bit more context. Why would it?

Pxtl 4y ago
Manitoba has spectacularly cheap and plentiful hydroelectric power.
- nine_k 4y ago
  But is there enough surplus?
  - joshlemer 4y ago
    Yes. Manitoba already exports a lot of electricity to the Minnesota, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, Ontario. It'll soon be bringing online the Keeyask dam as well which will add capacity for 400,000 more homes.
    - ztratar 4y ago
      For today. But I presume when these reactors are completed, the question is will that surplus be enough for the energy needs of ~2030. And there the answer is "we need to build more generation". No?

brutusborn 4y ago

I imagine because it is cheaper to produce locally, or Manitoba does not have spare capacity. Why do you think they should import from Manitoba?

rob74 4y ago
If it's cheaper to build these nuclear reactors as compared to "importing" hydro power from another Canadian province (these comments make it sound like it's another country) remains to be seen. Maybe it even looks that way from current estimates, but from past experience most estimates on the cost of building nuclear power plants are a bit optimistic...
- brutusborn 4y ago
  This article suggests nuclear costs will go down as long as regulations are not changed mid-construction, or if grandfathering is allowed. https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/why-are-nuclear-power-construction https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/why-are-nuclear-p...
joshlemer 4y ago
Manitoba exports huge amounts of electricity to Ontario, SK, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and with the new Keeyask dam coming online it'll have capacity for 400,000 new homes. There's also still 1000s of MW of untapped potential in Manitoba, if investments would be made in dams and transmission.
- brutusborn 4y ago
  The recent hydro project mentioned in the article is a lot more expensive than the Nuclear Options, although they may have cherry picked their data. It amounts to ~ 2x the cost. "BC Hydro’s 1,100 Mwe Site C dam is expected to cost $16 billion"

UberFly 4y ago

Probably to diversify and be somewhat self-sufficient.

multiplegeorges 4y ago

Canada is a surprisingly unconnected federation of almost independent provinces. We don't have a great east-west interconnection between the provinces. I mean, we have trade barriers between provinces. It's insane.

xrendan 4y ago

A big reason that Ontario can't / doesn't is that the demand centers in Southern Ontario are ridiculously far from the generation centers in Manitoba. Toronto is 1800 km straight from the new Keeyask Dam. This is over unpopulated muskeg that is expensive to build on in the first place and difficult to access for maintenance.

joshlemer 4y ago
Yeah, Southern Ontario is for the time being not possible but perhaps Northern Ontario.