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TIM SMITH \/ BRANDON SUN FILES<\/p>\n
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James Wilt, policy manager at Climate Action Team Manitoba<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
GE Vernova donated $500,000 to the Trump Vance inaugural committee, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission records. The company has a gas turbine manufacturing plant in Greenville, S.C.<\/p>\n
Hydro has said combustion turbines are necessary to help offset a projected energy shortfall by 2030. It said three turbines would produce 750 megawatts of power.<\/p>\n
Manitoba\u2019s independent energy regulator, the Public Utilities Board, is scheduled to conclude six weeks of hearings into Hydro\u2019s 10-year integrated resource plan and proposed turbines on Friday. The board is expected to provide recommendations to the government later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re expecting is consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Climate Action Team Manitoba, which opposes Hydro\u2019s turbine proposal, wants the province to find a different manufacturer.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Adrien Sala, who is responsible for Hydro, said only two vendors met the Crown corporation\u2019s requirements \u2014 GE Vernova and Germany-based Siemens \u2014 and only GE Vernova submitted a final bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHydro has been clear that further delays in selecting a vendor here will prevent us from being able to ensure we have the reliability energy we need in those low 2030s, and ultimately we\u2019re going to make sure we\u2019re providing the energy that\u2019s needed for Manitobans and our businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hydro and GE Vernova had signed a reservation agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHydro has been clear that further delays in selecting a vendor here will prevent us from being able to ensure we have the reliability energy we need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of pressures around the world for these types of dispatchable sources or energy, there is a significant amount of pressure around procurements,\u201d Sala said. \u201cIn order to make sure Manitoba could get access to these resources to meet our reliability needs in the low 2030s, we had to effectively put deposits in.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving away from this proposed supplier, which again was the only final bidder in that procurement process, would also see some financial impacts to Manitoba Hydro.\u201d<\/p>\n
GE Vernova deferred comment to Hydro, which yielded to Sala.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Finance Minister Adrien Sala<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Some estimates put gas turbine manufacturing and delivery wait times at up to seven years owing to a surge in global demand. Gas turbines are used to feed power-hungry AI data centres.<\/p>\n In addition to pulling U.S. liquor from shelves, the government changed the language of tenders to give preference to Canadian or non-U.S. firms in response to tariffs imposed by Trump.<\/p>\n Premier Wab Kinew, who\u2019s encouraged Manitobans to \u201cbuy Canadian,\u201d commented on a possible turbine deal with General Electric on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a done deal. We have a good relationship with GE Canada to be clear, and it\u2019s a relationship with GE Canada, located in Mississauga (Ont.) interestingly enough of all places,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the reason why we\u2019re able to procure these combustion turbines relatively quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n The AI data centre boom means turbine supplies are \u201cpretty much sewn up globally,\u201d Kinew said.<\/p>\n \u201cGE Canada is giving us some consideration, so it\u2019s a bit of a balancing act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kinew described the turbine proposal as a major procurement opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI wonder, if not just that decision, but the next $30 billion of Manitoba Hydro construction that\u2019s on the books for the next 20 years, if all of a sudden firms in Trump\u2019s America were not eligible for that,\u201d he said. \u201cI wonder how much attention that would get.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Midland MLA Lauren Stone is the Tory critic for Hydro.<\/p>\n Board chair Jamie Wilson declined to get into specifics about potential turbine providers last week when he discussed Allan Danroth\u2019s departure as Hydro CEO.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say those are negotiations that we definitely can\u2019t comment on because we\u2019re in active negotiations with different providers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n MLA Lauren Stone, the Tory critic for Hydro, accused the NDP of threatening the stability of Hydro.<\/p>\n \u201cManitoba Hydro is critical infrastructure and the backbone of our energy sovereignty,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s time to stop playing politics with it and let Manitoba Hydro fulfil its mandate to deliver affordable, reliable energy to Manitobans.\u201d<\/p>\n Hydro has done business with GE Vernova in the past. The firm was selected in 2023 for upgrades to the Grand Rapids hydroelectric generating station, a GE Vernova news release said at the time.<\/p>\n chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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