Le français suit
Press release
May 7, 2019
Green Leader tables bill to green the economy through renewable energy
Fredericton – On May 7, 2019 Green Party Leader David Coon tabled a bill to amend the Electricity Act to empower local municipal governments and First Nations to adopt renewable energy to meet some of their energy needs.
“New Brunswickers understand the need to transition to renewable power, they are asking for more renewables. First Nations want to be more self-reliant and municipal governments want more autonomy to increase their resilience. As Greens, we want to empower local governments and First Nations, and these changes will allow them to meet their own energy needs through local renewable sources,” says Coon. “Our ability to shrink our carbon footprint, should not be held hostage by the reluctance of NB Power to invest in renewable energy.”
The bill will:
- Allow municipal and First Nation governments to create partnerships to with local renewable power producers,
- Permit publicly-owned municipal distribution utilities in Saint John, Edmundston and Perth-Andover to secure electric power directly from local renewable power producers outside their municipal boundaries, where sites for community-based wind or solar farms might be more favourable.
- Ensure NB Power is compensated for the use of their distribution lines by enabling them to charge a tariff for transmitting power from local renewable producers to municipal and First Nation customers.
“We want to move New Brunswick to renewable energy. If NB Power were acting urgently to respond to the climate emergency by aggressively developing renewable power, this bill would not be needed,” says Coon.
– 30 –