The Maritime Link Project received federal and provincial approval and was released from the Environmental Assessment (EA) process, with conditions, on June 21, 2013. Overall, the EA demonstrated that the Maritime Link will have no significant effect on the environment and will help Atlantic Canada reduce emissions from coal and oil-fired generation.
The Maritime Link will transmit hydro-generated electricity from Muskrat Falls, which will help Nova Scotia meet stringent new federal emissions targets related to coal-fired electricity generation. These federal requirements mean that coal is no longer an option and that Nova Scotia must reduce coal emissions by 50 percent by 2030.
Additionally, the Nova Scotia government has set a target of having 40 percent of the province’s power come from renewable sources by 2020.
Through the Maritime Link, Nova Scotia will have access to clean, renewable and reliable energy from Newfoundland and Labrador, helping reduce Nova Scotia’s use of fossil fuels and exposure to unpredictable oil and coal prices.
NSP Maritime Link Inc. will invest 20 percent of the total cost of developing Phase I of the Lower Churchill Project and the Maritime Link, in return for 20 percent of the energy from Muskrat Falls for 35 years.
In its update to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) on December 13, 2013, NSP Maritime Link Inc. listed its net cost estimate as $1.56 billion, which is within the range approved by the UARB.
Between 2014 and 2017, the project required an average of about 300 people a year, with peaks reaching approximately 600. This number included work in both provinces throughout the construction process, which spanned four years. Currently, for operation of the Maritime Link, technical employees and support staff are employed by NSPML.
Construction of the Maritime Link began in early 2014 and first power occurred in December 2016. The Maritime Link is currently operational.
Yes. Similar projects, some much larger in scale, have been developed in many parts of the world, providing experience and effective models for ENL to draw upon.
NSP Maritime Link Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Newfoundland & Labrador Holdings Inc. and an affiliate of Nova Scotia Power; it is responsible for the design, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of the Maritime Link Project for 35 years. It was established to become the company regulated under the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB). In the fall of 2013, the Maritime Link Project received final approval from the UARB.
The Maritime Link is owned and operated by NSP Maritime Link Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Newfoundland & Labrador Holdings Inc. and an affiliate of Nova Scotia Power.
The Maritime Link Project involves the design, engineering, construction, operations and maintenance of a new 500 megawatt transmission system between Granite Canal, Newfoundland and Labrador and Woodbine, Nova Scotia. A 170 kilometre subsea portion of the transmission system runs beneath the Cabot Strait between the island of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. As well, a total of roughly 350 kilometres of the system runs over land, connecting the subsea cable to the individual power systems in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
