New Brunswick’s Mactaquac Dam has been in operation for almost half a century and generates about one-fifth of the power in the province, but it’s quickly nearing the end of its projected life span.
NB Power is considering its options, which include removing, replacing or refurbishing the dam. Either way, the utility says it will cost between $3 billion and $5 billion.
“It’s a figure we’re using for financial planning,” says NB Power spokesperson Brent Staeben.
The massive price tag comes from a document made public this week. It highlights the utility’s spending and capital project plans for the next decade, but with an industry in almost constant evolution, the cost could change before the project commences.
“We expect that there may be all kinds of different options for us down the road in terms of either how we could replace Mactaquac, the dam itself, or replace the power from Mactaquac if the price, for instance, is too high,” says Staeben.
As NB power considers its options, some people are taking sides.
Larry Jewett is with Friends of Mactaquac Lake, a group that wants to see the dam refurbished or replaced and the lake maintained.
He says those options appear to be the most cost effective.
“And actually, option three, taking out the dam altogether would require significant additional expenditures so it appears the least cost option would be to maintain the lake and maintain the spillway,” says Jewett.
NB Power is conducting several studies as it determines its preferred option. That decision will come in 2016 while a final decision will be made in 2019, with work expected to begin by 2021.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
