National groups join opposition to McMaster's gas generators. Here's what energy experts say about their use

Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance and Stop Sprawl HamOnt are among a list of 120 Canadian and international organizations asking McMaster University to give up its plan to build gas-burning generators.

The coalition also wants the Hamilton university "to take swift and meaningful action to divest from fossil fuels, in accordance with its institutional commitments and in line with climate science."

In a letter sent to the university's board of governors on Wednesday, the groups say they stand in solidarity with students who participated in a recent, eight-day hunger strike to push the school to stop plans to use natural-gas powered generators for electricity generation on campus and to divest from its fossil-fuel investments.

The hunger strike, organized by the McMaster Divestment Project, ended earlier this week due to health and safety concerns from participants.

"Students should not feel that resorting to a hunger strike is their only option for protecting our collective future," states the letter, signed by about 120 organizations, largely environmental and climate groups.

"As of last year, McMaster held $30.4 million in assets in the top 200 largest publicly-listed coal, oil, and gas reserves owners in the world… You have not set a formal, publicly disclosed plan for terminating these investments.

"Further, the university is taking a step backwards on making its campus carbon neutral by building four natural gas-powered generators on environmentally sensitive lands. It is nonsensical to build new fossil fuel powered generation at a time when renewables are less expensive and this project would lock in emissions for years to come."

University spokesperson Wade Hemsworth says installation of the generators is underway. The school expects them to be operational this summer. According to McMaster's energy management plan, the generators will allow it to save money on its energy bill by participating in the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)'s Industrial Conservation Initiative.

The program offers a discount to heavy electricity users who conserve during peak hours. That means that by burning gas on the hottest days of summer, the school will be able to access savings intended to incentivize reduced energy use, says Royal Bank of Canada economist Colin Guldimann, author of a report released last fall called the Price of Power.

"[Reduced consumption is] not what's happening in this case," Guldimann told CBC Hamilton this week. "What we're seeing is [a] structure that is probably misaligned with our climate goals."

McMaster says it expects to use the generators for about 100 hours a year, creating 700 tonnes of "carbon dioxide equivalent." The school says those emissions would be created regardless of whether it is the university or the province's electricity providers making the power, as the province also uses natural gas generators during peak periods.

Guldimann says that's not necessarily the case – the school could always opt for renewable energy and a "sophisticated battery storage system," but that would likely cost more. He also notes McMaster may just feel too far along in the project to change its approach.

"But technically speaking, there are alternatives."

The university says the savings generated from this project – $4 million annually – will help fund its other carbon reduction projects, such as electric boilers it planned to install at the end of 2022 to replace natural-gas burning boilers. Installation of the new boilers has been delayed to next year "due to COVID-19 and other factors," says Hemsworth.

"There are no cost savings associated with the implementation of an electric boiler; it is simply a greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy," states the university's energy plan.

In a statement earlier this week, McMaster University said its emissions reductions and targets are aggressive and are aligned with or surpass those of other Canadian universities.

"We are continuing to look at ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the generators," the statement reads. "They are an important part of the university's infrastructure, including making sure that laboratories are able to maintain operations and research programs are not put at risk."

During a visit to the university on Thursday, Ontario premier Doug Ford lauded its "out-of-the-box" approach to reducing demand on the province's electricity grid.

"I love the idea," he said. "I encourage them to keep thinking of creative ways of saving costs."

When asked about the potential for other institutions to follow suit and drive up emissions as a result, Ford touted Ontario's nuclear power production capacity.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to be environmentally friendly."

The province is poised to increase its use of gas power plants over the coming years as several of its nuclear reactors, a significant source of Ontario's power, go offline for maintenance.

Julie MacArthur, an associate professor at the business school at Royal Roads University in Victoria, who has written extensively on energy policy, says the choice of gas generators is an anomaly among the small power generation systems in Ontario.

She says "the vast majority" of community power generation or local generation is solar power, at 61 per cent, according to IESO data. She says only nine per cent of such generation is done with natural gas.

"This seems like a decision from a decade ago," MacArthur, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Reimagining Capitalism, told CBC Hamilton.

"It isn't what we expect to see from a major research university, especially given that a lot of their staff are aware… of the need to shift away from fossil fuels."

She notes that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently said wealthy countries should phase out gas plants as quickly as possible.

"The ethical side of this is just a bad look," she said. "It's definitely not forward-thinking or ethical in a climate-constrained world."

MacArthur says it appears cost beat out climate in this decision, illustrating the importance of government support in helping cash-strapped public institutions curb their emissions.

"Universities aren't typically flush with cash," she said. "There are so many budget crunches that without some sort of targeted program… they might not make [the climate-focused] choice. They might make the short-term, cost-based choice."

Saira Peesker is a reporter with CBC Hamilton, with particular interests in climate, labour and local politics. She has previously worked with the Hamilton Spectator and CTV News, and is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, covering business and personal finance. Saira can be reached at [email protected].

With files from Desmond Brown