The Canadian Electricity Association’s Geoff Smith focussed in the energy sector, saying, “While these projects are exciting and innovative, the fact that many maintain their spot on the list year after year reinforces the principal challenge faced by Canada’s electricity sector–that needed infrastructure projects are often subject to unnecessary regulatory delays. Our preference would be for [more of] these projects to graduate from the Top 100 and move to the completed list.”

Doug Salloum with the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering was more concerned about longevity than the speed in which projects can be delivered. No matter what the sector, Salloum says one question should always be asked: will the infrastructure asset last long enough to be of value to Canadians? According to Salloum, “If an infrastructure project fails within 50 or 60 years of completion, it’s either because it wasn’t built right or else because it wasn’t the right thing to build.” Salloum supports the environmental benefits of low-carbon hydroelectricity projects and public transit. However, he cautioned that expanding energy capacity encourages increased electrical demand, a scenario that could end up relegating energy efficiency to the backseat.

“With regards to building the right thing, it’s all about public consultation,” continued Salloum. “And that consultation needs to start at the conceptual phase, not after a government has already decided that new infrastructure is needed.”

Salloum’s example of a project that broke this rule? The Turcot Interchange project, our number seven. “This project famously missed the boat,” he said. “Consultation didn’t allow for public input on the fundamental concepts of the future interchange. As a result, the interchange is being designed to accommodate more, rather than fewer, single person vehicles.”

Elisabeth Arnold, principal at Sustainable Community Development, made a similar comment about the Turcot project. “The Turcot Interchange is not a sustainable solution,” she said. “The responses to the bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement, City of Montreal, and the recommendations of citizens have missed some key opportunities to improve the modal split by failing to include meaningful transit and cycling infrastructure in the project despite the additional $1.5 billion cost of the project.”

Arnold took a triple-bottom-line approach to her evaluation of the top 10 projects, weighing environmental, social, and economic impact. While the Turcot rated at the lowest end of the scale, Arnold ranked Toronto’s two transit initiatives at the highest end. Both the Spadina subway extension and the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown light-rail transit (LRT) project received the highest rating across all indicators because “they provide an alternative to single occupancy automobile use, with the corresponding environmental, social, and economic benefits [going] to individual commuters and residents of the City of Toronto as a whole.”

Canada West Foundation’s Casey Vander Ploeg decide that the top 10 projects were, in fact, not the best 10. He chose from the entire list to create his own top 10 based on how unique and innovative they are. Highlights from his list include the York VIVA Bus Rapidway for its design concept, Swan Hills ISCG Power Project for finance, technology, and concept, and the Niagara Tunnel Project for technological innovation.

According to Vander Ploeg, the VIVA project scored highly on his personal favorites list because the concept is innovative. “It helps public transit to better compete with the private automobiles on the ‘free’ road,” he said. “The dedicated bus lanes ensure a time advantage during congestion, and that makes public transit a more attractive option.” This project highlights an innovative way that communities are building cost effective infrastructure now, with an eye toward long-term planning.

The VIVA Rapidways are being designed to accommodate Light Rail Vehicles if they eventually replace the current bus system. By building the initial infrastructure as a system of dedicated lanes, the region can avoid having to completely reorganize its public transit system in the future.

Vander Ploeg chose the Swan Hills project in part because of the unique technology being deployed at the site. Instead of mining the coal, the project injects non-potable water and carbon dioxide into the ground, gasifying the coal. This gas is piped up through a well, refined, burned and turned into energy through a turbine, and then the emissions are captured via a carbon capture and storage facility. The captured emissions are being sold to an oil sands project for enhanced oil recovery, further reducing the quantity of fresh water required for oil extraction.   

While each of these industry professionals has taken a different method when reviewing their Top 10 projects, what is interesting are the common trends. These included a focus on projects that are sustainable, innovative, and work towards providing Canadians with reliable, cost-effective infrastructure assets.

The PHAI consists of a massive clean up and remediation of over one million cubic metres of soil that was contaminated due to radium and uranium processing at a site in the Port Hope area.

Upcoming work includes three major road upgrade contracts, a wastewater treatment plant, and a long-term waste management facility.

Another contract that will go out eventually has to do with the required inspection of close to 4,500 homes in the area. As part of the plan to ensure as much contamination is removed as possible, 4,500 homes will be inspected, including:, with tests ranging from soil sampling, wipe testing inside the home for various contaminants, and tests for radon gas.

In all, van Veen expects that close to 10 per cent of those homes will require some level of remediation. Possible remediation options for the homes could include major soil excavation from 1 foot to several metres, drywall removal, the removal of timber/beams, and floor removal.

According to van Veen, in the 1930s and 1940s when many of these homes were built, there was an excess of timber at the nearby uranium/radium processing site and many people constructing their homes used the wood without realizing that it was contaminated.

Transit in Toronto

There’s been more shuffling at Toronto City Hall, with yet more massive shifts in transit policy. In October 2010, Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, cancelled Transit City, a plan initiated by the previous administration. A network of light rail transit (LRT) lines across Sheppard and Finch Avenues, part of Transit City, was cancelled, with that funding redirected to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Running the entire line underground, coupled with the inclusion of the Scarborough RT into the project description, took the project cost from $4.6 billion to $8.4 billion, making it the biggest infrastructure project in Canada, and our number one for 2012.

However, Mayor Ford had only signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. This is different than the memorandum of agreement (MOA) McGuinty has with Toronto’s former mayor and Transit City champion, David Miller. Ford’s MOU with the Province had to be ratified by Toronto City Council before it would become a binding commitment between the two parties. In February 2012, Council voted 24 to 19 in favour of supporting a plan proposed by Councillor Karen Stintz to build the a network of LRT lines across Finch avenue West and Sheppard Avenue East.

All this shuffling leaves the cost for the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT at an estimated $6.5 billion, with approximately $1 billion earmarked for each of the new LRT lines.

Port Hope Area Initiative

While the change in scope for transit in Toronto is the largest shift in public policy that we have seen this year so far, financially the biggest change goes to the Port Hope Area Initiative. Based on a decade-old cost, ReNew Canada had pegged the cost of the massive brownfield cleanup at $260 million. However, in January 2012, less than a month after the release of the Top 100 2012 edition, the government released a new cost: $1.28 billion. Over ten years, the federal government will remediate 1.7 million cubic metres of historic low-level radioactive waste left over from radium and uranium processing in the community from 1933 to 1988.

New projects

Although we don’t want to reveal all of the new projects that will be on the upcoming Top 100, here are a couple of interesting projects that we will be featuring.

BC Hydro is undertaking an ambitious upgrade of the 65 year old John Hart Generating Station, located at Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Operational since 1947, the John Hart station is in need of seismic upgrades, turbine replacement, and new environmental controls. A new 2.1-kilometre (km) pipe will also be built to replace the existing 3 1.8-km spillways. Currently, the facility consists of six turbines that produce a combined 121 megawatts (MW) of power. These turbines will be replaced with three turbines, each producing 46 MW. According to Chris O’Riley, executive VP of generation for BC Hydro, there is strong local support for the project. O’Riley also said, “We will continue to ensure all First Nations and key stakeholders are involved as this project proceeds to next steps.”

The $400-million Quebec City Arena Project will also have a place on the Top 100 for 2013. Years in the making, an agreement was finally reached between the provincial and municipal governments and Quebecor media to build the 64,000-square-metre facility. Eventually, the goal is to move an NHL team into the arena, although currently there are no plans for a team to move to Quebec City. The terms of the deal stipulate that Quebecor will pay the municipal government to manage the facility, with rent costing the company $4.5 million annually with an NHL team and $2.5 million without. The naming rights for the facility were also sold to Quebecor for $63.5 million if the firm succeeds in moving an NHL team, or $33 million without. The project should begin construction in September 2012, with a completion deadline of 2015.

The Pioneer project, located about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, was awarded government funding in October, 2009. It secured $342.8-million from the federal government, through its $1-billion Clean Energy Fund and its $27-million ecoENERGY Technology Initiative. Alberta committed $436-million from its CCS technology fund. It also had a $5-million (Australian) pledge from Australia’s Global CCS Institute, a not-for-profit organization.

CCS projects had been becoming increasingly popular in the prairie provinces. The Top 100 list for 2011 included one CCS pilot—Alberta’s Project Pioneer, the first-ever CCS project to make it onto the Top 100. In 2012, two more projects joined the list.

This project amalgamated the Eglinton LRT and Scarborough RT conversion to LRT and put the entirety of the Eglinton portion underground. However, with the recent shift in support at Toronto’s city council to go back to a focus on LRT, rather than the subways advocated for by the mayor, Metrolinx will again proceed with the Eglinton and Scarborough projects separately.

For the Eglinton portion of the LRT system Metrolinx will continue with the Design, Bid, Build (DBB) tenders for tunnel construction, which will be starting in late summer 2012. However, the DBB format will only be used for tunnel construction, the remainder of the project will be examined by Infrastructure Ontario to consider the feasibility of delivering the remainder of the project through an Alternative Financing and Procurement program.

The report also describes the progress that has been made to date on the project. This includes the purchasing of the old Kodak Lands for a LRT storage and maintenance yard, the start of construction on the tunnel boring machine launch site, along with the ordering of the LRT vehicles, tunnel liners, tunnel boring machines, and extensive geotechnical testing.

I attended the event, on behalf of ReNew Canada, and was on hand to see a number of presentations related to the FIT review and specific technologies. The first day of the event was focused on examining the potential impacts of the review on the viability of the renewable energy industry in Ontario. Jan Carr, Strategic Adviser, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, and former president of the Ontario Power Authority, delivered the keynote speech. Carr discussed how the renewable energy strategy in Ontario was developed and the impact that the current renewable energy framework is having on investment decision making.

Carr highlighted several key indicators that investors look for when considering whether to back a renewable energy project. Carr used the example of wind energy to highlight some of the issues he has found to be particularly salient. According to Carr’s presentation, the top three positive attributes that investors see in Ontario include: Length of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), the transparency of the PPA process, and the availability of construction and engineering expertise. Carr also highlighted what he perceived to be the most widely held concerns of investor, including: The ease at which companies can obtain municipal permits, stability of the political environment, and the level of coordination between government related bodies.

The remainder of the day consisted of a number of panels that examined issues such as FIT project connection, financing FIT projects, FIT contract management, and the project approvals process. While each of these panels had a number of specific questions that they examined, one reoccurring issue was highlighted. Throughout all of the discussions, the excess bureaucracy of the FIT program was highlighted as one of the most challenging obstacles to overcome when developing a project. Some participants noted that retaining investors and convincing banks to provide debt or equity to your project becomes increasingly difficult the longer the project languishes in the approvals process.

“With the selection of Plenary Health as preferred proponent, we are excited to be moving forward with the conclusion of negotiations for building the new heart and surgical centre,” said Interior Health board chair Norman Embree. “This new centre brings us closer to our goal of developing the KGH site into a world-class health care campus that serves the entire Interior Health region.”

Demolition work for the project is expected to begin in summer 2012 at the completion of a performance based agreement. The new facility will include 15 operating rooms, 2 of which will be dedicated for cardiac surgeries. The IHSC building will be constructed at the corner of Pandosy Street and Rose Avenue. The existing Pandosy building will be demolished to make way for the new IHSC building.

1)      Establish and set timelines for major energy projects

2)      Reduce duplication and regulatory burdens

3)      Strengthen environmental protection

4)      Enhance consultation with Aboriginal peoples

For major energy projects, such as the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric project, approved in March 2012, the reduction of duplicated testing and report processes could dramatically reduce the timeline to project approval. By establishing set timelines for project reviews, the government is attempting to reduce the financial burden and risk to developers, with the intent of creating a more positive atmosphere for investment.

While reducing overlapping regulations is important, as is providing an accurate timeline for approval, it remains to be seen how the regulatory changes will impact projects that have cross-jurisdictional boundaries, such as pipelines or transmission lines.

As for the Top 100 projects, one project that stands to benefit substantially from these changes is the Site C Clean Energy Project in British Columbia. Because the review process is in the early stages, a reduction is reporting requirements alone could potentially ensure that this project is approved faster.

Of course, major regulatory overhauls don’t happen overnight. A shift towards these changes should probably be expected to take four years or more to fully implement. With hundreds of projects in various stages of development across the country, coordinating the shift to a new regulatory structure is going to be a challenging task.

The changes will have their most significant effect on future projects on the Top 100 list. The budget document highlights the NaiKun Wind Energy Project, a proposed $1.6-billion wind farm that is to be located off the coast of British Columbia. We put it on the Top 100 list in 2010, but  removed it when significant development hurdles, including delays in the necessary environmental approvals, stalled the project. If these changes are implemented, this project could easily return to a spot in the top 10 projects.

The 407 East Development Group won the contract and consists of a consortium of companies including SNC Lavalin and Cintra Infraestructuras S. A.. Both are the current lease holders on the existing 407 highway. In a considerable diversion from the current operating model, the province will retain full control over fees and operations of the highway. The existing section of the 407 was sold by the previous government for a one time fee, in exchange for a 99 year lease.

Infrastructure Ontario and the ministry of transportation are currently in negotiations with the preferred bidders and they are expected to wrap up in the spring of 2012. According to transportation and infrastructure minister Bob Chiarelli “Today is an important step forward in our commitment to extend Highway 407 East. This project is part of the McGuinty government’s long-term infrastructure plan and demonstrates our commitment to creating jobs,  strengthening the economy and building strong communities.”