E N E R G Y & E N V I R O N M E N T
Energy drives all economic activity, and no industrial or post-industrial society can do without plentiful, affordable supplies of it. Consumers and businesses need affordable, reliable energy to conduct their day-to-day affairs, and energy production can be a viable industry and driver of economic growth. This is particularly true in a country as vast and as cold as ours.
AIMS research focuses on generating ideas that can help ensure that all Canadians have access to affordable and reliable energy, and examines policy ideas that can help ensure the successful, sustainable development of Atlantic Canada’s energy resources. We focus on a wide range of energy policy issues including those surrounding electricity, oil and gas, tidal power and wind generation.
POLICY PAPERS & OP-ED COMMENTARIES
Muskrat Falls: Increased Risk and Opportunity
Click here to read Muskrat Falls: Opportunities to Reduce Risk and Enhance Benefits, which features an exchange between AIMS Senior Fellow Gordon Weil and Nalcor President and CEO Ed Martin. The recent announcement that the cost of Muskrat Falls has increased means ratepayers in Newfoundland and Labrador will face higher ...
Universities Would Be Wrong to Shun Energy Companies
The recent news that Dalhousie University in Halifax — and reportedly some 20 other universities across the country — is investigating whether to sever its ties with large businesses that deal in fossil fuels provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the true purpose of the university. While environmental integrity ...
Regional Approach Needed Post-Muskrat Falls
During the massive power outages in Newfoundland, the provincial government asserted correctly that the Muskrat Falls project would produce increased electric reliability for the Island. But its reasoning showing a persistence of the concept of the province as an energy Island. Obviously, a new hydro resource is likely to be ...
Nova Scotian’s Opposition to Fracking Unsupported by the Facts
A recently published opinion survey by market research company Insight West on the views of British Columbians regarding the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline may give Canadians, and Atlantic Canadians specifically, reason to reflect on the prospects of greater energy development throughout Atlantic Canada. The survey results demonstrate that one can ...
Emera-Nalcor Deal Could Meet UARB Conditions, But Risks Remain
Nalcor, the Newfoundland and Labrador utility developing Muskrat Falls, and the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board have been on a collision course. Nalcor wants to keep a big chunk of the project’s power for use in promoting the province’s future economic growth. Until large customers emerge, Nalcor would sell ...
MEDIA MENTIONS
MEDIA RELEASE: NEW STUDY SURVEYS ATLANTIC CANADA’S ELECTRICITY SECTOR
Halifax, NS (16 October 2014): Today, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) publishes “Taking Stock of Atlantic Canada’s Electricity Sector,” a study that surveys recent developments, reviews the status ...
Fracking Ban Only Applies to High-volume Fracking, says AIMS CEO
The banning of high-level onshore hydraulic fracturing by the Liberal government of Nova Scotia shouldn’t pose problems for companies wishing to explore, develop and frack natural gas wells in the ...
Fracking Ban Definition of “High-volume” Practice Unclear
What is high-volume fracking?Apparently, legislation is coming to ban it in Nova Scotia.Three days after the Wheeler report recommended Nova Scotia prepare community approval mechanisms, more area-specific science and an ...
Energy Analyst Says Customers Bear Muskrat Falls Risk
Dr. Weil appeared on the Newfoundland and Labrador CBC segment "Labrador Morning." In the interview, he cautions about price uncertainty in the electricity market and suggests the creation of an ...