BCBusiness

November 2019 – Street Fighting Man

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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through its Clean Growth Pathway Strategy. The company partnered with BC Ferries and Seaspan to develop world- first, exclusive technology to fuel ships via tanker truck delivery on deck. BC Ferries is using LNG thanks to the conversion of two of its largest ships, along with three newly built, natural-gas- fuelled Salish-class vessels; it calculates a CO2 emissions reduction of 21,500 tonnes annually (the equivalent of taking 4,400 vehicles off the road) as well as millions of dollars in reduced fuel costs. As for Seaspan, its two LNG ferries reduce CO2 emissions approximately 22 percent with its use of LNG fuel. FortisBC's next goal is to develop the Tilbury Pacific LNG marine jetty adjacent to its Tilbury LNG facility, in order to provide a ship-to-ship method of fuel delivery for local and trans-Pacific vessels. Such infrastructure would make LNG fuelling more efficient for international vessels calling into the VFPA, which in turn would presumably encourage more shipping companies to switch to LNG—and make B.C. their preferred supplier. "Ideally, we will have the jetty ready for operation in 2021, and the project is significant because it will bring more confidence to the market," says Ramakrishnan. However, the growth of LNG locally is not without its challenges. Take the trucking sector as a single example: a significant drop in diesel prices could slow natural gas momentum; there is also a lack of natural-gas fuelling infrastructure outside of B.C. As for the development of our export capabilities, Jiang says, "It's no secret that our pace has been way too slow. We really do have to make a concentrated effort to educate people about the importance of LNG as an alternative fuel that, over the next 20 to 30 years, can replace (other) fossil fuel use." For his part, Ramakrishnan says FortisBC will continue to develop infrastructure and consider partnering with providers of other cleaner alternative fuels (such as hydrogen), with the intention that the latter initiative can create regional hubs in the land B . C . L N G A L L I A N C E continued on pg. 60 "WHILE WE'VE BEEN PRODUCING AND USING LNG RESPONSIBLY FOR DECADES, WE REALLY ARE APPROACHING A NEW ERA IN THAT THE EXPORT COMPONENT IS RAPIDLY COMING TOGETHER." Companies switching from diesel to LNG fleets are helping cut air pollution in the lower mainland.

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