A multi-billion-dollar proposal to add more combustion turbines in Manitoba is facing opposition from a coalition of environmental organizations as public hearings on the plan are set to begin. Manitoba Hydro is proposing three new gas turbines—adding 750 megawatts of capacity — at the Brandon Generating Station as part of its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a 10-year roadmap for meeting the province’s growing electricity needs. A spokesperson for the provincial Crown corporation said the new turbines would operate alongside two existing gas turbines at the site — currently the only gas-powered turbines Hydro operates in the province. Based on current system planning and economics, the spokesperson said Hydro expects the new turbines to run “infrequently,” mainly to serve peak demand and as a backstop resource during droughts, extreme weather or other system contingencies. However, the proposal is drawing concerns from Climate Action Team Manitoba, a coalition of five environmental organizations in the province. James Wilt, the coalition’s policy development manager, argues the plan is “incredibly expensive” and that newer technologies could offer a lower-cost alternative, claiming Hydro has not given those options “a fair shake.” The proposal to add the turbines comes with an estimated price tag of $3 billion. The Crown corporation carries a debt of $25.34 billion, according to its latest annual report for the fiscal year ended Mar. 31, 2025. Wilt added that his organization isn’t alone in that assessment, pointing to a June report from Evolved Energy Research — an independent consultant participating in the Public Utilities Board (PUB) hearings. It concluded Hydro “has not established the need date or the scale of the proposed gas build-out… and that it has not demonstrated the plan is the least-cost option for ratepayers,” according to the report filed as an intervener exhibit for the hearings. While Wilt acknowledged Hydro has had a gas plant facility at the site for years, he said the energy landscape has “fundamentally changed” in the last few years, claiming that “Hydro’s fossil gas dreams are risky, polluting, and expensive.” Gas turbines generate electricity by burning fuel to produce hot gas that spins turbine blades connected to a generator. “Hydro needs to really catch up,” Wilt said, “and if it doesn’t — and if the PUB does issue recommendations that advise a different path — the premier really needs to be prepared to send Hydro back to the drawing board and say that they need to start this plan over.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro said Evolved Energy Research is one of several independent expert consultants participating in the public hearings. “They have their perspective and there are many others; that is the point of an open public process like this one,” the emailed statement read. “We’re confident we are making a good case to the PUB that our plan is the best path forward for Manitoba Hydro and our customers, and we look forward to the PUB’s recommendation.” Hydro said the three proposed turbines will operate on natural gas but would be capable of conversion to “alternative fuel sources as they become available at scale.” The two turbines at the Brandon Generating Station operate on natural gas, the spokesperson said, and have been used since retiring coal-fueled generators at the site in 2018. While Manitoba Hydro’s 2025 IRP report notes running combustion turbines with natural gas will produce some greenhouse gas emissions, it says this is mitigated by how little the units are expected to run on average, pegged at 0.5 to 5 per cent in the report. It adds the additional combustion turbines in the province “will have virtually no impact” on Manitoba’s emissions, noting 99.8 per cent of Manitoba Hydro’s generation will continue to be from non-fossil sources through to 2035. The spokesperson added that energy generated at the Brandon Generating Station serves the whole province. Manitoba Hydro’s target in-service date for the new turbines is summer 2030, adding that other regulatory approvals are still required. The public hearing gets underway on July 27. CTV News has reached out to the provincial government for comment.
