Crude Oil Supply - Transmission Capacity

Western Canada and the Western U.S. have vast potential to supply growing electricity markets in the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. Southwest with environmentally attractive, stable-priced electricity. Meanwhile, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) estimates demand for power in the region will grow by more than 26,000 megawatts (MW) by 2015.

TransCanada’s NorthernLights initiative proposes to connect these sources of low-cost and renewable supply to growing markets via long distance, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines that maximize the use of existing and emerging energy infrastructure corridors and rights-of-way where practical.

The NorthernLights Project aims to connect Fort McMurray's transmission lines with the NorthWestern United States in order to have a place to send any excess generation capacity.


This NorthernLights consists of two major projects:

• Three long distance, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)transmission lines Each line up to 3,000 MW and $1.5 to $2.0 Billion
• Celilo Project Oil Sands cogeneration, wind, and other clean energy sources in Alberta and British Columbia