Regulations Limiting Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Natural Gas-fired Generation of Electricity

The Regulations Limiting Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Natural Gas-fired Generation of Electricity came into force on January 1, 2019. These regulations aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas-fired power plants by setting emission intensity limits for boiler units and combustion engine units.

Under these regulations, a responsible person for a unit must not emit an amount of CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels that is greater than specific intensity limits during a calendar year. The intensity limits vary depending on the type of unit and are as follows: 420 tonnes of CO2 emissions per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of energy produced for boiler units, other than those referred to in subsection 3(4), and combustion engine units that are equipped with at least one combustion engine that has a capacity of more than 150 MW. For combustion engine units that are equipped with combustion engines that have a capacity of 150 MW or less, the intensity limit is 550 tonnes of CO2 emissions per GWh of energy produced.

The regulations also apply to existing generation of electricity, including units that were moved to another facility or converted to natural gas. The provisions of these regulations do not apply to units with respect to a calendar year in which they generate electricity and, if applicable, produce useful thermal energy from the combustion of coal.