Image: Wikipedia

NB Power has released a document to Warktimes explaining why it chose the site near Centre Village for its proposed 500 MW gas/diesel plant.

The two-page “Location Analysis” executive summary says that the utility considered eight sites, but narrowed the list down to two: Scoudouc and Centre Village.

NB Power then identified regulatory and other “constraints” before deciding in February 2025 to go ahead with the Centre Village site:

“The Centre Village location was selected as the preferred site,” the document says, “due to its regulatory advantage, $50 Million in lower costs, and ability to accommodate up to 500 MW of incremental capacity with minimal transmission investment, all of which are critical to ensuring project completion by 2028, and to protect the province of New Brunswick’s energy security.”

To read the full document, click here.

Civic Centre Q&A

NB Power gave similar reasons for choosing the Centre Village site in August during a public question and answer session at the Civic Centre in Sackville.

Matt Gorman, a senior environmental technician at NB Power, was responding to questions from Allison Manthorne of Birds Canada.

To read a transcript of their exchange, click here

Sharp contrast

Barry Rothfuss, executive director, Atlantic Wildlife Institute

The NB Power location analysis is in sharp contrast to the environmental concerns expressed by Barry Rothfuss, executive director of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute (AWI) in nearby Cookville.

AWI is the only organization in Atlantic Canada that is certified to deal with risks and threats to ecologically sensitive flora and fauna and the only one certified to suggest ways of mitigating damage when it occurs.

In a July 18 letter to PROENERGY, the American company that is planning to build and operate the gas/diesel plant, Rothfuss questioned the accuracy of the project summary that the company had filed with environmental regulators.

“At its core, this is an oil and natural gas operating facility,” his letter says.

“Its environmental footprint has real potential to be altering and irreversible. Placing it in the centre of a very important corridor that ecologically benefits two provinces’ long-term environmental stability is a risk we do not, and should not, be forced to accept.”

To read the Rothfuss letter, click here.

In a July interview with Warktimes, Rothfuss expressed concerns about the potential for spills of toxic materials that could affect surface and ground water on the Chignecto Isthmus.

He also noted that the proposed gas plant would require huge amounts of water.

“It’s going to affect our wells, the quality of our wells,” he said.

“Then on top of that, the sound pollution that comes out of these facilities is going to be a major issue,” he added.

“Then you’ve got a higher degree of traffic going up and down an area, which we’re trying to keep open for movement of wildlife, so you’re going to have impact issues.”

Rothfuss worried that his Atlantic Wildlife Institute would be pushed out of the area.

“So, you know, we’ve put 30 years into building this program, and now we’re being threatened by a project that essentially will undermine and remove all of the positive work that we’ve done, not only through the province, but also here locally in the Isthmus itself.”