Point Aconi Generating Station
Encyclopedia
The Point Aconi Generating Station is a 165 MW Canadian
electrical generating station located in the community of Point Aconi
, Nova Scotia
, a rural community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. A thermal generating station, the Point Aconi Generating Station is owned and operated by Nova Scotia Power Corporation
. It opened on August 13, 1994 following four years of construction.
The Point Aconi Generating Station is situated on the shores of the Cabot Strait
at the northeastern tip of Boularderie Island
, located approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the headland named Point Aconi
and 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the headland named Table Head. Its civic address is 1800 Prince Mine Rd, Point Aconi, NS. The facility is located at the northern terminus of Prince Mine Rd - Highway 162
.
and petroleum coke
, which is transported to the facility using dump trucks from a bulk ship unloading pier in Sydney Harbour near the community of Whitney Pier.
It features one boiler and one chimney 107-metres above ground.
The Point Aconi Generating Station consumes 189,000 tonnes of coal and 213,000 tonnes of petroleum coke per year and currently generates approximately 6.8% of the province's electricity and produces roughly 10.07% of the province's air pollution, including hydrochloric acid
, sulphuric acid, hexachlorobenzene
and mercury
. In 2007 it created 1.465 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
in 1931 by Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
and was the sole supplier of electricity for the Industrial Cape Breton
region until its purchase by Nova Scotia Power in 1966 as part of DOSCO's ongoing asset liquidation. Nova Scotia Power opened the province's largest generating station, the Lingan Generating Station
, at the height of the 1979 energy crisis
to take advantage of relatively cheap Cape Breton coal being produced by the Cape Breton Development Corporation
(DEVCO).
The idea of replacing the aging Seaboard Generating Station was discussed during the 1980s and was an important promise by the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party
led by Premier John Buchanan
during the 1988 provincial election
. After Buchanan's government was returned to power, Nova Scotia Power issued a call for proposals in October 1988 to construct a 150 megawatt CFB (continuous fluidized bed) coal-fired electrical generating station in Point Aconi.
Significant controversy dogged Buchanan's election promise to build a new generating station as the Public Utility Board
had authority to decide on all applications by Nova Scotia Power to construct new generating stations as well as associated rate increases. The PUB began to conduct hearings into the project in spring 1989 and stated that an economic analysis of Buchanan's election promise (the $500 million Point Aconi Generating Station) wasn't required as the province's generating needs were met by current sources. Coincidentally, Nova Scotia Power had also promised to purchase 30 megawatts annually from small independent power producers in the province beginning in 1990, however this agreement was abolished after the Small Private Power Association of Nova Scotia intervened at the PUB hearings to block the proposed Point Aconi Generating Station. On April 27, 1989, Buchanan introduced a controversial amendment to the Public Utilities Act which would remove the requirement for Nova Scotia Power to submit proposals for new generating station to the PUB. PUB hearings into the Point Aconi project were cancelled after the amendment to the Public Utilities Act receiving Royal Assent
in early June 1989.
In early January 1990, Nova Scotia Power announced that the Japan
ese industrial conglomerate Mitsui
had won the RFP that had been issued in fall 1988 and a contract was signed on behalf of the Government of Nova Scotia. The proposal detailed a turnkey
project designed by Mitsui with the CFB steam boiler supplied by Pyro-Power through Kamtech Services (a subsidiary of The Lauren Corporation of Abilene, Texas), project management and engineering by Chicago based Sargent & Lundy LLC, and construction of the plant itself by Jones Power Corporation. Two weeks later, the provincial government announced that its Environmental Control Council would conduct a one-day hearing into the project on January 18, 1990 in place of the PUB hearings conducted the previous spring which were aborted as a result of the amendment to the Public Utilities Act. This hearing received submissions from citizens and organizations that were strongly opposed to the Point Aconi Generating Station, pointing out the environmental impact, that its generating capacity wasn't required, and that it was a political mega-project that would add to the financial debt of the publicly owned Nova Scotia Power Corporation. Other submissions from citizens and organizations were supportive of the project, which they claimed would create an estimated 500 construction and operating jobs, as well as theoretically guarantee work in Cape Breton's coal mines; the United Mine Workers of America Local 26 had lobbied hard for the power plant. Richie Mann
, the environment critic for the official opposition Liberal Party asked at the one-day hearing "Can you give us some evidence that this process is not an exercise in public relations, a sham?"
On Friday, March 9, 1990 the provincial government announced its approval of the estimated $436 million project, even though it had already signed a contract with Mitsui two months earlier. Nova Scotia's Environment Minister John Leefe
defended the projected 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
emissions, stating "[The project will be] absolutely inconsequential in terms of global carbon dioxide production."
Nova Scotia Power pointed out the environmental benefits of the Point Aconi project, stating that the use of CFB technology whereby limestone
would be used to filter out sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide
(NOx) which were major contributors to acid rain
. Minister Leefe stated that Nova Scotia Power intended to reduce SO2 emissions from its generating stations to 100,000 tonnes a year by 2010 from the 1990 level of 160,000 tonnes. Minister Leefe also noted that while the use of CFB technology would reduce acid rain, it would also result in a comparatively massive increase in carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions which was a greenhouse gas
; Leefe told reporters that Nova Scotia's coal-fired plants contributed 32 per cent of the 18 million tonnes per year of CO2 emitted by the province (as of 1990). The projected increase in Nova Scotia's Co2 emissions as a result of the Point Aconi Generating Station (an estimated additional 1.5 million tonnes per year) went against a recent (1990) decision by federal and provincial energy ministers to reduce emissions of the gas by at least 20 per cent by 2005.
The debate over construction of the Point Aconi Generating Station took place in the shadow of a much larger global debate over acid rain
and its contributing factors, such as fossil fueled generating stations. The acid rain controversy resulted in the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement which was signed by both countries on March 13, 1991 and stipulated that both countries would agree to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide
(NOx).
On September 20, 1990, federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Bernard Valcourt
rejected a full environmental review of the project, arguing that any problems to the environment would be relatively minor. Valcourt justified this decision by referred to a scientific report on the project conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans which stated that use of CFB technology could be mitigated, however it noted the widespread concern by local residents over the effect of the generating station's draw on ground water supplies (CFB requires large amounts of fresh water) as well as ash discharge and CO2 emissions. The DFO scientists noted widespread mistrust of the provincial government's decision and that the controversial one-day hearing in January left the impression "of a cooked-up deal between the province and federal government to slip this project by without a fair assessment of its potential dangers. In fact, problems are relatively minor... Point Aconi is in some respects a model."
On December 13, 1990 lawyers for Greenpeace, the Ecology Action Centre and six property owners who live near Point Aconi argued in the Federal Court of Canada
that Valcourt had made a legal error in rejecting a public environmental review panel and that federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel guidelines should be followed to institute a formal review of the $436 million project. Mr. Justice Andrew MacKay ruled against the application on Friday, January 18, 1991 by stating that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans acted in accordance with the law in deciding not to order a full environmental asssessment of the project. MacKay noted that the project has resulted in substantial testing of ground water around the plant, however he noted that because there are no standards for CO2, it was impossible to say that the plant would create a pollution problem with its massive CO2 emissions.
A citizens liaison committee was established by Nova Scotia Power to review the project. Current (2010) Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria, Mark Eyking
whose family operated several farms on Boularderie Island
near Point Aconi was a member of this committee at that time and had questions about how emissions from the plant or ground water withdrawn for it would affect his crops or how losses would be compensated, stating "We see all these little mistakes happening and we know we're going to get dumped on. But when we ask for a neutral party to look at this, Nova Scotia power brings in its big shooters and they knock us down like pegs. Now it's almost too late but people won't sit down and take this any more."
In addition to the estimated $436 million cost for the generating station, the project also included construction of a $150 million transmission line running for 435 km (270.3 mi) from Point Aconi to Halifax
. Several property owners along the proposed route rejected offers by Nova Scotia Power to purchase their land, citing the physiological effects of the electromagnetic field
from transmission lines. Additional controversy occurred when it was determined that the proposed route would disturb a Great Blue Heron
colony which brought angry responses from members of the Mi'kmaq Nation.
Mitsui formed Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. as an extraprovincial corporation in another province on December 1, 1989 as a result of its RFP submission. Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. was registered in Nova Scotia on February 12, 1990 after the contract was signed with Nova Scotia Power in early January. Construction activity on the Point Aconi Generating Station began in early 1990 after Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. contracted with Jones Power Corporation to act as construction manager and carry out construction work for the Point Aconi Generating Station project. Jones Power Corporation's obligations were guaranteed by its subsidiary J.A. Jones Construction
.
The Point Aconi Generating Station project ran into delays as a result of cost overruns, resulting in a series of prolonged contractual disputes that arose between 1991 and 1992. Jones Power Corporation claimed millions of dollars in additional compensation and a July 28, 1992 memorandum of understanding between Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. and Jones Power Co. fixed compensation for Jones Power Corporation at $118 million. The companies agreed to complete the project on November 5, 1992 and leave the contractual dispute after the project's conclusion. Additional documents were discovered after the MOU had been signed but were deemed to be protected by solicitor-client privilege or litigation privilege as detailed in Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. v. Jones Power Co. which is referenced as [2000] NSJ no. 258; 2000 NSCA 96; Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. was removed from the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock on June 23, 2003 after legal proceedings were completed.
Construction of the plant was overshadowed by the resignation of Premier John Buchanan upon his appointment to the Senate of Canada in the wake of a corruption scandal relating to his tenure as premier. The selection of a new leader for the governing Progressive Conservative Party
, Donald Cameron
, took place on February 26, 1991. Cameron made a surprise announcement on January 9, 1992 that his government would privatize Nova Scotia Power Corporation to remove public responsibility for the utility's $2.4 billion debt; Cameron stated that the debt had hurt the province's credit rating and that there had been allegations of political interference for setting electricity rates and decisions to build large power projects. The $850 million initial public offering
for 85 million shares of the utility took place on August 12, 1992.
The Point Aconi Generating Station began operating in March 1994 and was officially opened in a ceremony on August 12, 1994 however construction was not completed until later in the fall of 1994 and the plant didn't begin commercial operation until January 1, 1995.
After initial production issues at the Point Aconi facility were resolved, Nova Scotia Power Corporation closed and decommissioned the 65-year old Seaboard Generating Station in 1997.
The Point Aconi Generating Station was originally designed to burn high sulphur coal mined in the Sydney Coal Field, which it sits atop. The primary source of coal was to be from the Prince Colliery, located 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the generating station property. The Prince Colliery was owned by the federal Crown corporation Cape Breton Development Corporation
(DEVCO) which was beset with production problems at its three remaining collieries during the mid-late 1990s as a result of flooding, roof collapses and labour difficulties. The instability of locally mined coal forced Nova Scotia Power to import coal from the United States
and South America
beginning in 1998 to supplement the supply from DEVCO.
From 1998-2000, Nova Scotia Power brought imported coal into Nova Scotia at the Martin Marietta Materials
aggregate loading facility in Auld's Cove
on the Strait of Canso
. This required coal ordered for the Point Aconi Generating Station and Lingan Generating Station
to be transported by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
to the DEVCO coal washing plant at Victoria Junction
, whereby the coal destined for the Point Aconi Generating Station was trucked the final distance to the plant. DEVCO closed the Prince Colliery, its last operating coal mine, on November 23, 2001; ironically, the original reason for constructing the Point Aconi Generating Station had been to secure the long-term viability of the Prince Colliery.
After Nova Scotia Power purchased the surface assets of DEVCO in late 2001, all coal for its two remaining thermal generating stations in Industrial Cape Breton
was imported through the International Coal Pier on Sydney Harbour which was formerly owned and operated for coal export by DEVCO.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
electrical generating station located in the community of Point Aconi
Point Aconi, Nova Scotia
Point Aconi is a rural community in Nova Scotia at the northeastern tip of Boularderie Island. It derives its name from the headland of the same name, Point Aconi....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, a rural community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. A thermal generating station, the Point Aconi Generating Station is owned and operated by Nova Scotia Power Corporation
Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a power generating and delivery company in Nova Scotia. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board .-History:...
. It opened on August 13, 1994 following four years of construction.
The Point Aconi Generating Station is situated on the shores of the Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
at the northeastern tip of Boularderie Island
Boularderie Island
Boularderie Island is an island separating the Cabot Strait from Bras d'Or Lake on the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It takes its name from Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie, who was granted the area as a concession from the King of France.At 40 km long and...
, located approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the headland named Point Aconi
Point Aconi
Point Aconi can refer to several things:* Point Aconi, Nova Scotia, a community on Boularderie Island.* Point Aconi Generating Station, a power plant in the same community....
and 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the headland named Table Head. Its civic address is 1800 Prince Mine Rd, Point Aconi, NS. The facility is located at the northern terminus of Prince Mine Rd - Highway 162
Nova Scotia Highway 162
Highway 162 is a two-lane controlled access highway on Boularderie Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.Highway 162 was constructed in the late 1970s to link Highway 105 in Bras d'Or to the now-closed Prince Mine at Point Aconi....
.
Operation
The plant burns coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and petroleum coke
Petroleum coke
Petroleum coke is a carbonaceous solid derived from oil refinery coker units or other cracking processes. Other coke has traditionally been derived from coal....
, which is transported to the facility using dump trucks from a bulk ship unloading pier in Sydney Harbour near the community of Whitney Pier.
It features one boiler and one chimney 107-metres above ground.
The Point Aconi Generating Station consumes 189,000 tonnes of coal and 213,000 tonnes of petroleum coke per year and currently generates approximately 6.8% of the province's electricity and produces roughly 10.07% of the province's air pollution, including hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
, sulphuric acid, hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorobenzene, or perchlorobenzene, is a chlorocarbon with the molecular formula C6Cl6. It is a fungicide formerly used as a seed treatment, especially on wheat to control the fungal disease bunt...
and mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
. In 2007 it created 1.465 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
History
The Seaboard Generating Station opened in Glace BayGlace Bay, Nova Scotia
Glace Bay is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton....
in 1931 by Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company.Incorporated in 1928 and operational in 1930, DOSCO was predated by the British Empire Steel Corporation which was a merger of the Dominion Coal Company, the Dominion Iron and Steel Company and the...
and was the sole supplier of electricity for the Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton is a geographic region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It refers to the eastern portion of Cape Breton County fronting the Atlantic Ocean on the southeastern part of Cape Breton Island.-Geography:...
region until its purchase by Nova Scotia Power in 1966 as part of DOSCO's ongoing asset liquidation. Nova Scotia Power opened the province's largest generating station, the Lingan Generating Station
Lingan Generating Station
The Lingan Generating Station is a 600 MW Canadian electrical generating station located in the community of Lingan in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, at the height of the 1979 energy crisis
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
to take advantage of relatively cheap Cape Breton coal being produced by the Cape Breton Development Corporation
Cape Breton Development Corporation
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation ....
(DEVCO).
The idea of replacing the aging Seaboard Generating Station was discussed during the 1980s and was an important promise by the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia
The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, registered under the Nova Scotia Elections Act as the "Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia", is a moderate right-of-centre political party in Nova Scotia, Canada....
led by Premier John Buchanan
John Buchanan
John MacLennan Buchanan, PC, QC is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th Premier of Nova Scotia from 1978 to 1990 and as a member of the Senate of Canada from 1990 to 2006.-Early life:...
during the 1988 provincial election
Nova Scotia general election, 1988
The 32nd Nova Scotia general election was held on September 6, 1988 to elect members of the 55th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party.* Vote share included in "other"...
. After Buchanan's government was returned to power, Nova Scotia Power issued a call for proposals in October 1988 to construct a 150 megawatt CFB (continuous fluidized bed) coal-fired electrical generating station in Point Aconi.
Significant controversy dogged Buchanan's election promise to build a new generating station as the Public Utility Board
Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board
The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board or NSUARB is the independent tribunal and regulating arm of the Government of Nova Scotia.NSUARB was established in 1992 following the amalgamation of the former Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities, the Nova Scotia Municipal Board, the Expropriations...
had authority to decide on all applications by Nova Scotia Power to construct new generating stations as well as associated rate increases. The PUB began to conduct hearings into the project in spring 1989 and stated that an economic analysis of Buchanan's election promise (the $500 million Point Aconi Generating Station) wasn't required as the province's generating needs were met by current sources. Coincidentally, Nova Scotia Power had also promised to purchase 30 megawatts annually from small independent power producers in the province beginning in 1990, however this agreement was abolished after the Small Private Power Association of Nova Scotia intervened at the PUB hearings to block the proposed Point Aconi Generating Station. On April 27, 1989, Buchanan introduced a controversial amendment to the Public Utilities Act which would remove the requirement for Nova Scotia Power to submit proposals for new generating station to the PUB. PUB hearings into the Point Aconi project were cancelled after the amendment to the Public Utilities Act receiving Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in early June 1989.
In early January 1990, Nova Scotia Power announced that the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese industrial conglomerate Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
had won the RFP that had been issued in fall 1988 and a contract was signed on behalf of the Government of Nova Scotia. The proposal detailed a turnkey
Turnkey
A turn-key or a turn-key project is a type of project that is constructed by a developer and sold or turned over to a buyer in a ready-to-use condition.-Common usage:...
project designed by Mitsui with the CFB steam boiler supplied by Pyro-Power through Kamtech Services (a subsidiary of The Lauren Corporation of Abilene, Texas), project management and engineering by Chicago based Sargent & Lundy LLC, and construction of the plant itself by Jones Power Corporation. Two weeks later, the provincial government announced that its Environmental Control Council would conduct a one-day hearing into the project on January 18, 1990 in place of the PUB hearings conducted the previous spring which were aborted as a result of the amendment to the Public Utilities Act. This hearing received submissions from citizens and organizations that were strongly opposed to the Point Aconi Generating Station, pointing out the environmental impact, that its generating capacity wasn't required, and that it was a political mega-project that would add to the financial debt of the publicly owned Nova Scotia Power Corporation. Other submissions from citizens and organizations were supportive of the project, which they claimed would create an estimated 500 construction and operating jobs, as well as theoretically guarantee work in Cape Breton's coal mines; the United Mine Workers of America Local 26 had lobbied hard for the power plant. Richie Mann
Richie Mann
Richard W. "Richie" Mann is a retired politician in Nova Scotia, Canada.Born and educated in St. Peter's, Nova Scotia, Mann began his working life in 1971 with pulp and paper giant Stora Forest Industries. He was employed at the Cape Breton mill as an industrial pipefitter/steamfitter from 1971...
, the environment critic for the official opposition Liberal Party asked at the one-day hearing "Can you give us some evidence that this process is not an exercise in public relations, a sham?"
On Friday, March 9, 1990 the provincial government announced its approval of the estimated $436 million project, even though it had already signed a contract with Mitsui two months earlier. Nova Scotia's Environment Minister John Leefe
John Leefe
John Gordon Leefe is an author, former teacher and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Queens in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978 to 1999 as a Progressive Conservative member....
defended the projected 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions, stating "[The project will be] absolutely inconsequential in terms of global carbon dioxide production."
Nova Scotia Power pointed out the environmental benefits of the Point Aconi project, stating that the use of CFB technology whereby limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
would be used to filter out sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
(NOx) which were major contributors to acid rain
Acid rain
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
. Minister Leefe stated that Nova Scotia Power intended to reduce SO2 emissions from its generating stations to 100,000 tonnes a year by 2010 from the 1990 level of 160,000 tonnes. Minister Leefe also noted that while the use of CFB technology would reduce acid rain, it would also result in a comparatively massive increase in carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
(CO2) emissions which was a greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
; Leefe told reporters that Nova Scotia's coal-fired plants contributed 32 per cent of the 18 million tonnes per year of CO2 emitted by the province (as of 1990). The projected increase in Nova Scotia's Co2 emissions as a result of the Point Aconi Generating Station (an estimated additional 1.5 million tonnes per year) went against a recent (1990) decision by federal and provincial energy ministers to reduce emissions of the gas by at least 20 per cent by 2005.
The debate over construction of the Point Aconi Generating Station took place in the shadow of a much larger global debate over acid rain
Acid rain
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
and its contributing factors, such as fossil fueled generating stations. The acid rain controversy resulted in the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement which was signed by both countries on March 13, 1991 and stipulated that both countries would agree to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
(NOx).
On September 20, 1990, federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Bernard Valcourt
Bernard Valcourt
Bernard Valcourt, PC is a Canadian politician and lawyer.-Entrance to politics:Valcourt was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1984 election that brought Brian Mulroney to power. He was appointed to the Canadian Cabinet in 1986 as a...
rejected a full environmental review of the project, arguing that any problems to the environment would be relatively minor. Valcourt justified this decision by referred to a scientific report on the project conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans which stated that use of CFB technology could be mitigated, however it noted the widespread concern by local residents over the effect of the generating station's draw on ground water supplies (CFB requires large amounts of fresh water) as well as ash discharge and CO2 emissions. The DFO scientists noted widespread mistrust of the provincial government's decision and that the controversial one-day hearing in January left the impression "of a cooked-up deal between the province and federal government to slip this project by without a fair assessment of its potential dangers. In fact, problems are relatively minor... Point Aconi is in some respects a model."
On December 13, 1990 lawyers for Greenpeace, the Ecology Action Centre and six property owners who live near Point Aconi argued in the Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
that Valcourt had made a legal error in rejecting a public environmental review panel and that federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel guidelines should be followed to institute a formal review of the $436 million project. Mr. Justice Andrew MacKay ruled against the application on Friday, January 18, 1991 by stating that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans acted in accordance with the law in deciding not to order a full environmental asssessment of the project. MacKay noted that the project has resulted in substantial testing of ground water around the plant, however he noted that because there are no standards for CO2, it was impossible to say that the plant would create a pollution problem with its massive CO2 emissions.
A citizens liaison committee was established by Nova Scotia Power to review the project. Current (2010) Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria, Mark Eyking
Mark Eyking
Mark Eyking, PC, MP is a Canadian politician.Eyking was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. A resident of Millville, Nova Scotia, Eyking is a current member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Sydney—Victoria since 2000. Eyking is a former farmer...
whose family operated several farms on Boularderie Island
Boularderie Island
Boularderie Island is an island separating the Cabot Strait from Bras d'Or Lake on the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It takes its name from Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie, who was granted the area as a concession from the King of France.At 40 km long and...
near Point Aconi was a member of this committee at that time and had questions about how emissions from the plant or ground water withdrawn for it would affect his crops or how losses would be compensated, stating "We see all these little mistakes happening and we know we're going to get dumped on. But when we ask for a neutral party to look at this, Nova Scotia power brings in its big shooters and they knock us down like pegs. Now it's almost too late but people won't sit down and take this any more."
In addition to the estimated $436 million cost for the generating station, the project also included construction of a $150 million transmission line running for 435 km (270.3 mi) from Point Aconi to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. Several property owners along the proposed route rejected offers by Nova Scotia Power to purchase their land, citing the physiological effects of the electromagnetic field
Electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by moving electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction...
from transmission lines. Additional controversy occurred when it was determined that the proposed route would disturb a Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
colony which brought angry responses from members of the Mi'kmaq Nation.
Mitsui formed Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. as an extraprovincial corporation in another province on December 1, 1989 as a result of its RFP submission. Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. was registered in Nova Scotia on February 12, 1990 after the contract was signed with Nova Scotia Power in early January. Construction activity on the Point Aconi Generating Station began in early 1990 after Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. contracted with Jones Power Corporation to act as construction manager and carry out construction work for the Point Aconi Generating Station project. Jones Power Corporation's obligations were guaranteed by its subsidiary J.A. Jones Construction
J.A. Jones Construction
J.A. Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operating internationally since the 1950s, it merged with Germany's Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979....
.
The Point Aconi Generating Station project ran into delays as a result of cost overruns, resulting in a series of prolonged contractual disputes that arose between 1991 and 1992. Jones Power Corporation claimed millions of dollars in additional compensation and a July 28, 1992 memorandum of understanding between Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. and Jones Power Co. fixed compensation for Jones Power Corporation at $118 million. The companies agreed to complete the project on November 5, 1992 and leave the contractual dispute after the project's conclusion. Additional documents were discovered after the MOU had been signed but were deemed to be protected by solicitor-client privilege or litigation privilege as detailed in Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. v. Jones Power Co. which is referenced as [2000] NSJ no. 258; 2000 NSCA 96; Mitsui & Co. (Point Aconi) Ltd. was removed from the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock on June 23, 2003 after legal proceedings were completed.
Construction of the plant was overshadowed by the resignation of Premier John Buchanan upon his appointment to the Senate of Canada in the wake of a corruption scandal relating to his tenure as premier. The selection of a new leader for the governing Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia
The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, registered under the Nova Scotia Elections Act as the "Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia", is a moderate right-of-centre political party in Nova Scotia, Canada....
, Donald Cameron
Donald Cameron
-Scottish Clan Cameron:* Donald Dubh Cameron, 11th Chief* Taillear Dubh na Tuaighe, Donald Cameron, illegitimate son of 13th Chief; descendants are members of Taylor sept* Donald Dubh MacDonald MacEwen Cameron, 15th Chief...
, took place on February 26, 1991. Cameron made a surprise announcement on January 9, 1992 that his government would privatize Nova Scotia Power Corporation to remove public responsibility for the utility's $2.4 billion debt; Cameron stated that the debt had hurt the province's credit rating and that there had been allegations of political interference for setting electricity rates and decisions to build large power projects. The $850 million initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
for 85 million shares of the utility took place on August 12, 1992.
The Point Aconi Generating Station began operating in March 1994 and was officially opened in a ceremony on August 12, 1994 however construction was not completed until later in the fall of 1994 and the plant didn't begin commercial operation until January 1, 1995.
After initial production issues at the Point Aconi facility were resolved, Nova Scotia Power Corporation closed and decommissioned the 65-year old Seaboard Generating Station in 1997.
The Point Aconi Generating Station was originally designed to burn high sulphur coal mined in the Sydney Coal Field, which it sits atop. The primary source of coal was to be from the Prince Colliery, located 2 km (1.2 mi) east of the generating station property. The Prince Colliery was owned by the federal Crown corporation Cape Breton Development Corporation
Cape Breton Development Corporation
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation ....
(DEVCO) which was beset with production problems at its three remaining collieries during the mid-late 1990s as a result of flooding, roof collapses and labour difficulties. The instability of locally mined coal forced Nova Scotia Power to import coal from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
beginning in 1998 to supplement the supply from DEVCO.
From 1998-2000, Nova Scotia Power brought imported coal into Nova Scotia at the Martin Marietta Materials
Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...
aggregate loading facility in Auld's Cove
Auld's Cove, Nova Scotia
Auld's Cove is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Guysborough County on Nova Scotia Highway 104 at the Canso Causeway. It is thought to have been named for Alexander Auld, an early settler who had grist and saw mills there....
on the Strait of Canso
Strait of Canso
The Strait of Canso , is a strait located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula from Cape Breton Island....
. This required coal ordered for the Point Aconi Generating Station and Lingan Generating Station
Lingan Generating Station
The Lingan Generating Station is a 600 MW Canadian electrical generating station located in the community of Lingan in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
to be transported by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Sydney and Truro with spurs at Sydney, Point Tupper, Trenton and Stellarton....
to the DEVCO coal washing plant at Victoria Junction
Victoria Junction, Nova Scotia
Victoria Junction is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.It is located approximately east of Sydney. The community developed as a result of the operations of the Sydney and Louisburg Railway where a junction existed a branch line...
, whereby the coal destined for the Point Aconi Generating Station was trucked the final distance to the plant. DEVCO closed the Prince Colliery, its last operating coal mine, on November 23, 2001; ironically, the original reason for constructing the Point Aconi Generating Station had been to secure the long-term viability of the Prince Colliery.
After Nova Scotia Power purchased the surface assets of DEVCO in late 2001, all coal for its two remaining thermal generating stations in Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton is a geographic region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It refers to the eastern portion of Cape Breton County fronting the Atlantic Ocean on the southeastern part of Cape Breton Island.-Geography:...
was imported through the International Coal Pier on Sydney Harbour which was formerly owned and operated for coal export by DEVCO.