Given that over 11 TWh of energy production from the full World Energy development, a notional fee of 1 c/KWh as a form of land rent, would generate $110M. Should the operation be turning profits as high as $2B USD, this level of rent should not be the least bit objectionable.
Government’s handling of World Energy GH2’s wind power project on the Port au Port Peninsula contains the elements of scandal. This is a public policy catastrophe, one to which critical and costly issues remain either poorly understood or unexplained.
The cavalier Premier Furey - “life is full of conflicts…” he told VOCM – did not push Paddick to resign. Instead, Paddick chose to resign - not from World Energy GH2, but from the Churchill River Committee.
Nevertheless, Mr. Paddick, a friend and confident of the Premier, is now in an official capacity with the Government of NL and, therefore, is in a position of influence with both politicians and officials at the highest level.
Rightfully, the public should worry that Ms. Williams lacks the experience to tackle issues that plague the Crown Corporation at a high level. Her Minister having failed to do so, she could also warn the Premier that his appointment of Brendan Paddock to the Churchill River Energy Analysis Team may cause the public to perceive a conflict of interest, considering Mr. Paddick's business interests are in alignment with a part of Hydro's mandate.
Premier Furey’s recent formation of an “Expert Panel" on Churchill Falls 2041 leads people to think that there are no impediments after the Contract expires. He didn't tell you what happened in 1999 to alter the future.
NL may have dodged one offshore bullet, but well-informed
sources in the Nation’s capital advise that the public were given only one
part of the story.
The...