Regulatory hearings on New Brunswick Power’s proposed Tantramar gas and diesel plant advanced Thursday when the first expert witness opposing the project testified before the Energy and Utilities Board.
Toby Couture, a battery and renewable energy specialist engaged by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, argues in his pre-filed evidence that renewables supported by battery storage offer a superior solution to meet power capacity demands compared to the proposed gas-and-diesel facility.
Challenge to Expert’s Credibility
Before Couture testified Thursday afternoon, New Brunswick Power lawyer John Furey spent roughly an hour attempting to disqualify both the expert and his evidence. Furey objected to Couture’s co-authorship of a 2007 paper with New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon while working for the Conservation Council. The paper linked global climate goals to energy transitions and urged reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
Couture did not fully endorse those nearly two-decade-old views but recalled a statement often attributed to former Saudi Arabian oil minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani: “The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.”
“It ended because we developed better ways of doing things,” Couture stated during the hearing from his home in Germany. “Technological change drives the market forward, and we are now in the midst of a technological revolution.”
Furey’s main objection centered on claims that Couture selectively chose data to support his stance, undermining his ability to provide objective, non-partisan evidence. He cited inconsistencies and omissions in Couture’s 35-page submission.
Kostantina Northrup, lawyer for the Conservation Council, dismissed suggestions of deliberate evidence manipulation. She noted recent instances of errors and unintentional mischaracterizations in other testimonies, arguing these influence how the board weighs evidence, not its admissibility.
The board sided with Northrup, admitting Couture’s evidence for consideration.
Debate on Battery Capacity Needs
During cross-examination, Couture repeatedly contested New Brunswick Power’s assertion that a 1,000-megawatt battery would be required to deliver 400 megawatts of reliable capacity. He called this a miscalculation of batteries’ “effective load carrying capacity,” or the dependable energy output at any time.
Battery systems do not contribute their full rated capacity to a utility’s effective load carrying calculation. New Brunswick Power applies a 40 percent capacity factor, necessitating a 1,000-megawatt battery for 400 megawatts of reliable power.
Couture counters that the factor starts at 80 percent for initial installations and declines with scale. With minimal existing utility-scale battery storage, he estimates the first 500 megawatts installed would yield 400 megawatts of effective capacity.
Energy and Utilities Board Chair Christopher Stewart and member Kenneth McCullough sought further clarification on this point.
Cross-examination of expert witnesses concludes Friday following testimony from those hired by the public intervener. Final arguments occur at a date yet to be set.
