The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s assessment of estimated upstream greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed Woodfibre LNG plant is now available.
A public comment period on the assessment, which is available on the agency’s website, is open until March. 1.
The proposed LNG export facility awaits a federal decision after receiving conditional provincial and Squamish Nation approvals in 2015. Comments received during the public comment period will help the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna make her final decision on granting a federal environmental assessment certificate, according to the news release.
The review, released Tuesday afternoon, provides rough estimates of projected greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas production, processing and transmission of the natural gas used by the proposed Woodfibre LNG facility slated for Howe Sound.
The proposed Woodfibre LNG “is a relatively small facility,” according to the review.
The rough estimate of the upstream greenhouse gas emissions within Canada, due to natural gas used by the proposed Woodfibre LNG facility, will be from 700-880 kilotonnes per year of CO2, or 17.5 to 22 megatonnes of GHG over the 25-year lifetime of the plant, the review states.
Climate Change Canada supplied the federal agency with the projections, according to the review.
The facility’s direct greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at 0.129 megatonnes of CO2 per year or 3.2 megatonnes of CO2 over the life of the facility, according to the B.C. assessment report.
The direct emissions are “low compared to other proposed projects, as the Woodfibre project uses electricity from the grid to drive compressors that liquefy the natural gas, rather than using natural-gas-driven turbines,” the review states.
The analysis was performed after the newly elected federal Liberal government announced new guiding principles for environmental assessments to include direct and upstream greenhouse gas emissions.
In the wake of the release, Byng Giraud, vice-president of corporate affairs for Woodfibre LNG Ltd., said the company staff and consultants would be going over the report and then submitting an official comment to the agency.
“Woodfibre LNG is not engaged in any upstream operations or activities but rather will be purchasing natural gas from sources in Canada, specifically British Columbia and Alberta,” Giraud said in a statement Tuesday.
Public comments must be addressed “Woodfibre LNG Project” and submitted by March 1. To submit a comment, write to: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 410-701 West Georgia Street, Vancouver B.C. V7Y 1C6, telephone 604-666-2431, fax 604-666-6990, email [email protected]
More information on this project is available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry website, reference number 80060.
