January 15, 2014 - 3:33 PM
VICTORIA - A new report says British Columbia's liquefied natural gas industry would create more jobs and less pollution if the companies were required to power their plants with electricity instead of natural gas.
The report, conducted by the group Clean Energy Canada, concludes electric-drive LNG plants could create up to 45 per cent more regional jobs and cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions by one-third.
The "Lock In Jobs, Not Pollution" report calls on the B.C. government to unlock the multiple social, employment and environmental benefits of requiring firms to use electricity to run their operations.
Premier Christy Clark's government is developing a regulatory and taxation policy for the LNG industry, but no details of the plan have been released other than to say it wants to the cleanest LNG industry in the world.
Most of the world's LNG facilities operate with natural gas driven terminals but there are some electric-powered plants.
Whistler-based LNG consultant Zoher Meratla says he's studied electric-drives for LNG plants and estimates the proposed plants in northwest B.C. could cut carbon emissions by at least half and reduce daily operational costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014