Brian Vaasjo highlights Capital Power’s lower-carbon innovations at Washington D.C. forum

Brian Vaasjo, CEO and President of Capital Power, presented at the “Carbon Pricing: A Driver of Innovation and Risk Mitigation” forum at the Embassy of Canada to the United States, in Washington D.C. on March 19, 2019. Capital Power was the co-sponsor of the event.

Speaking on the “Industry and Financial Sector Perspectives” panel, Brian discussed Capital Power’s experience and engagement with Canadian climate policy developments. With climate change and lower-carbon policies top of mind for U.S. policymakers, Brian offered insights and learnings from Capital Power’s experience in Alberta – one of the world’s earliest movers on carbon pricing and a jurisdiction with an ambitious climate action plan under Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan.

Brian discussed how Capital Power’s focus on innovation ensures the continued market and carbon competitiveness of our facilities. Using Capital Power’s Genesee units as an example, he highlighted key initiatives including optimizing and expanding natural gas co-firing capability at the units, as well as the Genesee Performance Standard (GPS) program. The GPS program will achieve a 10% efficiency improvement at the units by 2021, which will continue post conversion of the units from coal to natural gas by 2030.

Brian also explained how Capital Power’s presence and participation in North American carbon markets supports our carbon management objectives and contributes to our new natural gas and renewable project development initiatives in Canada and the United States. He also discussed Capital Power’s investments in initiatives to advance deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) for future application at thermal generating facilities. He highlighted Capital Power’s investment in C2CNT, a CCUS technology project.

Also attending the event from Capital Power were Daniel Jurijew, VP, Government and External Relations, Jon Sohn, Director, Government Relations U.S., Chris Bursaw, Director, Regulatory U.S., and Kerry Ryden, U.S. Legal Counsel. Explaining the value of supporting the event, Jon Sohn said “Through our sponsorship and participation in this event, Capital Power continues to raise our profile with key political stakeholders in Washington, D.C. and leverage our Canadian experience to impact emerging climate policy in the United States.”