Sunrise project promises 2,500 jobs and $700 million in tax revenue as construction races toward 2028
Enbridge Inc. has broken ground on a $4bn expansion of its Westcoast natural gas pipeline in British Columbia, starting construction roughly three months after winning federal approval.
The Sunrise Expansion Program will add up to 300m cubic feet per day of transportation capacity to the province's gas transmission system, BNN Bloomberg reported.
Ottawa approved the project in April.
At a groundbreaking ceremony in Prince George on July 20, Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel tied the build to the company's wider spending in the province.
"Not only is this $4bn project part of the $8bn that Enbridge is building in this province. But there's some $3bn of GDP benefit to the country, helping to move our economy forward," he said.
The project will contribute more than $3bn to Canada's economy and more than $2.5bn to BC's over the coming decades, according to Enbridge.
CBC News reported it will create 2,500 jobs and generate $700m in tax revenue for local roads, hospitals and schools.
Enbridge says 1,300 of the jobs will stay local, and that it expects to pay more than $2.4m a year in municipal property taxes within the Fraser Fort George Regional District over 35 years.
Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson pointed to the speed of the approval-to-construction timeline.
"Today we're turning the page from plans to action," he told the ceremony, CBC reported.
Prince George Mayor Simon Yu, Lheidli T'enneh Chief Dolleen Logan and BC Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon signed a section of pipe at the event.
Enbridge will add about 140 kilometres of new pipe through looping segments built parallel to the existing line, plus added compression, according to BNN Bloomberg, which reported 11 such segments.
CBC News reported that Enbridge will install five 42-inch loops on the southern portion of the system, which runs from southwest of Chetwynd to the BC border with the US in the Fraser Valley.
The existing Westcoast line spans 2,900 kilometres, as per BNN Bloomberg.
The project will use domestically produced materials, including 100 percent Canadian melted and poured steel from InterPro Pipe and Steel in Regina, Saskatchewan, CBC reported.
Hodgson linked the added capacity to LNG exports and domestic supply.
The added energy "ensures we never compromise domestic energy security or affordability" as the country ramps up West Coast LNG exports to double its non-US trade, he said.
Enbridge holds a 30 percent stake in the Woodfibre LNG terminal under construction in Squamish, BNN Bloomberg reported.
According to CBC News, 38 Indigenous communities in BC acquired a 12.5 percent stake in the Westcoast system last year, backed by the first federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee.
BNN Bloomberg put the number of communities at 28, and said Enbridge has told the groups they can take equity in the expansion but are not required to.
"We all bring different perspectives, but we share a common goal, creating lasting benefits while respecting the people and the lands that sustain us," Logan said, as reported by CBC.
The groundbreaking follows Canfor's decision to permanently close its Northwood pulp mill, which will put about 300 people in Prince George out of work.
Enbridge expects the expansion to enter service near the end of 2028, Ebel said.
