As Nova Scotia fast-tracks natural gas generation capacity, Dalhousie University has signed on to lead a $30-million effort to confirm the extent of the province’s onshore natural gas reserves —and actively facilitate exploratory drilling.

The push to procure more natural gas generation has dismayed many environmental groups in the province.

Indigenous peoples, the public, and other concerned stakeholders have until Feb. 9 to comment on a provincial proposal to build at least one new “fast-acting” natural gas power plant in rural Pictou County, Nova Scotia.

The Salt Springs power plant project would have up to 300 megawatts capacity. A second near-identical project proposal, but for a different site, titled Marshdale, is also open for comment until Feb. 9.

“Environmental studies and broad community engagement will help determine whether both sites or simply one will be most suitable,” writes the province’s Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) in its latest update.

The IESO issued a request for expressions of interest (REOI) “to build, own and operate at least 300 megawatts of fast-acting gas fired electricity generation” in Pictou County last October, and is expected to make its selection by this summer.

Nova Scotia environmental groups are organizing against the province’s push for natural gas.

“The IESO needs to [be] technology neutral and let proponents make their case for what is most affordable, sustainable, and reliable,” Chris Benjamin, senior energy coordinator at Halifax’s Ecology Action Centre (EAC), told The Energy Mix.

Virtual power plants—cloud-based software that aggregates distributed energy resources like rooftop solar, smart thermostats, and electric vehicle chargers—and grid-scale battery storage are proven technologies that should be on the IESO’s radar, he said.

The Affordable Energy Coalition is likewise concerned about the fast-tracking of natural gas generation, Benjamin added, quoting from the umbrella organization’s opening statement at last week’s general rate application hearing in Halifax:

“We are concerned by the assumption that gas is the cheapest means of production and (also concerned) that significant decision-makers in energy are not conducting balanced analyses of available data comparing costs associated with different means of generation, the total cost of production including transportation, use, storage, decommissioning, and stranded assets, and carbon pricing (current and future).”

Building additional transmission capacity is yet another way to increase grid resilience and reliability, Benjamin said.

Citing new modelling commissioned by the EAC, he added that expanding transmission capacity would deliver further dividends both to regional economies and ratepayers:

“If we build just one of the three power lines proposed by the government of Nova Scotia as part of the Wind West project, we could increase the GDP in Atlantic Canada by $8 billion and lower power rates by 14, 11 and 9% in PEI, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, respectively.”

Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia Department of Energy has engaged Dalhousie University to oversee a new $30-million program to conduct further research into the province’s onshore natural gas resources—and to facilitate exploratory drilling, reports CBC News.

The quest to “really understand the potential for our resources to yield productive natural oil and gas [is] an important moment for Nova Scotians,” Dalhousie’s acting vice-president of research and innovation Graham Gagnon told a media conference. The university will also be responsible for inviting and evaluating exploratory drilling proposals, in consultation with the province’s Department of Energy, and will host feedback sessions for affected communities, reports CBC.