AI-generated summary
· Closing_evidence · 11/30/2020
Nova Scotia Power files 2020 Integrated Resource Plan charting a 25-year path to coal elimination and deep grid decarbonization under the province's Sustainable Development Goals Act.
AI summary
- The 2020 IRP, titled Powering a Green Nova Scotia, Together, models retirement of all coal plants by either 2030 or 2040 across scenarios, reducing electricity-sector greenhouse gas emissions by 87–95% from 2005 levels by 2045, consistent with the Nova Scotia Environmental Goals And Climate Change Reduction Act Sustainable Development Goals Act targets of net-zero by 2050.
- The lowest-cost SDGA-compliant scenario (2.0C) combines Low Electrification, Base DSM, a Net-Zero 2050 GHG trajectory, and Integrated Resource Plan Regional Integration — which includes a new Reliability Tie to New Brunswick (target 2025–2029) and a Regional Interconnection to Quebec or ISO-NE (target 2027–2035) — and is designated the Reference Plan for future avoided-cost calculations.
- Wind is identified as the least-cost domestic renewable resource, with 500–800 MW of new onshore capacity targeted by 2045, while new natural gas combustion turbines operating at low capacity factors (under 10%) are the cheapest source of firm replacement capacity needed as coal retires; coal-to-gas conversions at Trenton and Point Tupper are flagged for further engineering study.
- Demand Side Management analysis shows the Base DSM profile (per EfficiencyOne's 2019 Potential Study) is most economic on a 25-year NPV basis, while a Demand Response program targeting 75 MW by 2025 is shown to have value across all resource plans; higher DSM levels reduce new capacity needs and GHG emissions but at greater net cost.
- The Action Plan calls for an Electrification Strategy, thermal plant depreciation study, wind procurement targeting 50–100 MW by 2025, and an evergreen IRP process with annual updates, while the Roadmap identifies signposts including cap-and-trade market development, electrification load growth, and technology cost trajectories to trigger strategy adjustments.
Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI from the filings it describes. We take care to make it accurate, but errors are possible - and it isn't advice. Only the filings themselves are the record: if you're relying on something here, confirm it against the source documents or the Nova Scotia Energy Board's own record. Full disclaimer →
What was filed
Documents filed on this day
- N-9 2020 Integrated Resource Plan
- N-9-(i) Appendices A-N
- 82308 Letter from NSPI enclosing 2020 IRP Report