A Roadmap to a Better Future
In keeping with our commitment to leadership in environmental sustainability, Saint John Energy is developing a roadmap to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.
We are calling this initiative Zero30.
Doing all we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is critical –
for our city, our province and our planet.
Founded more than a century ago, we’ve taken pride in being a progressive and innovative utility that puts its customers and community first.
As we move into our next 100 years, Zero30 will be a cornerstone initiative.
We know that reaching net zero by 2030 will be a challenge. We cannot do it alone. We will need help from our customers, from partners, and others in the industry.
We’ll need help from you.
Taking action for a cleaner energy future.
Saint John Energy’s vision is to be a national utility leader in the transition to net zero.
Net zero is one of the most important goals being pursued globally, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The ultimate goal of net zero is to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as set out internationally in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Reaching net zero means greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – caused by the burning of fossil fuels – are balanced by an equal amount of GHG emission reductions or removals.
The Paris Agreement: Limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius
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The Paris Agreement: Limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius 〰️
How do we get there?
Exploring 3 paths:
1. Achieving an even cleaner energy supply
New Brunswick’s electricity supply is already amongst the cleanest in the world, with an impressive 80 per cent of our electricity coming from non-emitting sources, including hydro, wind, and nuclear-generated electricity from the Point Lepreau Generating Station.
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At Saint John Energy, we will satisfy an additional 15 per cent of our supply requirements with clean energy thanks to Burchill Wind, a 42-megawatt wind farm – the first utility-scale wind farm in the history of Saint John. The 10-turbine site in Lorneville, owned by Natural Forces and Neqotkuk, began producing emission-free power for our grid in 2023.
The goal of our Zero30 campaign is to ensure that 100 per cent of our electrical generation comes from clean sources.
The path to that goal must still be charted.
An important part of our Zero30 work will be finding the best balance of additional emissions-free energy sources, such as wind and solar, pumped hydro, hydrogen-fuelled generation, geothermal, nuclear and more.
And we will have to determine the best storage options to both complement these options and maximize the effectiveness of our grid. That could include more utility-scale battery solutions, such as the Megapacks we already have, and other emerging options such as flywheel storage, a system that uses a spinning wheel to store and release energy quickly and efficiently.
We will consider the role of carbon capture and storage and other emissions reductions technologies.
$4 million in funding from Natural Resources Canada
2. Planning for a future with a significantly greater demand
The shift from fossil fuels is expected to put more demand on electrical grids worldwide.
Canada’s demand for electricity is expected to double by 2050. As a result, our country’s electricity output will have to increase by at least two to three times than it is today. That is a big leap, and it must be made using green-powered electricity.
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The increasing use of electric vehicles is a prime example of the changes before us. If the future is Norway, where some 80 per cent of new car sales are electric, then New Brunswick is headed toward a new reality: within a decade, our roads could be dominated by EVs.
The increased adoption of battery-powered vehicles in New Brunswick will significantly boost demand on the electrical grid. And that’s just the beginning.
As customers rely more heavily on electricity in their homes and businesses, we must ensure our grid is prepared to meet that demand.
For years, we’ve been preparing for this expected surge as we build out the Utility of the Future right here in Saint John. Renewable energy like Burchill Wind is a centrepiece of that work, as is our smart grid.
Nationally and internationally recognized for its innovative approach, our smart grid makes our system more resilient, efficient, and capable of handling the changes to come.
We will want to ensure that all that additional electricity coming onto our system has a neutral impact on our emissions.
And to meet the additional demand, we will need to physically enhance our grid – building it out with additional distribution equipment and other infrastructure enhancements as needed.
These options all have potential, although their exact roles are to be determined. Our road map will help navigate that transition in the most productive and smooth way possible.
A key challenge of Zero30 is in figuring out that critical blend of options. Determining that balance will be a true step forward, and a boost to New Brunswick ingenuity and innovation.
There is no one path to net zero. Our goal with Zero30 is to determine ways to get there.
Working in collaboration with NB Power
3. Innovating to help our customers
We embark on this journey a full century after we were established, ushering in the age of electricity for the citizens of Saint John. We’re excited by what the next 100 years will bring, and we see the Zero30 as an opportunity to drive more products and services that will make life and work easier and more comfortable for our customers.
Like our heat pump rental program, which thousands of customers have gravitated to for both the peace of mind it offers and the energy advantage – the heat pumps are about three times more efficient than baseboard electric.
With the advent of Burchill, we’ve been able to bring renewable energy certificates to Saint John. The certificates to help energy buyers achieve net-zero by attesting that they are purchasing wind energy produced from the wind farm.
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We will have enough of these certificates to allow both Saint John Energy and the City of Saint John to certify all their corporate electricity requirements as coming from renewable energy while still leaving an abundant supply for others in the city looking for the benefits that come from renewable energy certificates.
Through a public process, both Irving Oil and Port Saint John became the first commercial customers of these certificates. This allows both of them to match their electricity consumption supplied by Saint John Energy with renewable energy certificates from Burchill.
We anticipate that we will be offering the certificates to interested customers into the future, helping businesses and residents alike reach their net-zero goals.
In partnership with Norwegian water heater maker OSO and other organizations, we’ve also been piloting innovative smart water heater technology. Knowing our reputation for being nimble and innovative, the company approached us and asked if we would test its new OSO Charge water heaters and their interaction with our smart grid.
OSO Charge water heaters are forecastable, interactive, and offer a secure way to manage and balance energy. Our hope is that the pilot will underscore how the smart water heaters increase energy efficiency while at the same time improving the performance efficiency of our grid – and that we can make this leading-edge technology available to more customers.
With Zero30, we intend to build on these as well as discover new products and services for our customers. A central part of Zero30 will be mapping out how we can best help customers make the best of electricity as a clean energy source for their homes and businesses.
We’re committed to helping Saint John transition into a new era of green energy.
Zero30 will be an effort unlike any other we have undertaken
A Plan
in Action.
Work on Zero30 began in 2022 with pre-planning and preliminary data collection. The process of seeking ideas, securing partners, and developing our Zero30 roadmap will extend into 2025.
Zero30 modelling will be regularly updated in order to help track our progress and to adjust to the changes in the future. Flexible, dynamic modelling and forecasting will give us the best insights for action.
Collaborating with NB Power and others, we will develop models of energy use to determine the best options for adding new, non-emitting electricity generation, while also improving the existing supply and adopting new technologies.
Zero30 will include an action plan with concrete steps, measures, and recommendations, only achievable, measurable steps – not platitudes – will get us to our goal.
We’re strongly positioned to get this done.
We were the first utility in Eastern Canada to achieve the coveted Sustainable Electricity Company designation.
The move to cleaner energy will require ingenuity. It will require innovation and action that will boost our local and provincial economies, creating new jobs and new prosperity.
In Canada, the federal government has mandated that electrical utilities achieve net zero by 2035. We plan to get there faster by making our operations net zero by 2030. It’s ambitious, but we’re determined.
Zero30 is not only critical for environmental and societal benefits, it’s also an important step in continuing to be a strong and sustainable company for our city and our customers.
We’ve long taken pride in having one of the best customer service scores and one of the most reliable grids in Canada – and in offering those at rates that are among the lowest in Atlantic Canada.
We believe the kind of innovation and work that will be required to reach net zero will enhance our grid and service while keeping rates as low as possible.