Ksi Lisims LNG is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, says Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga'a Lisims Government, as the project submits its application for environmental review.
Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga'a Lisims Government. Photo from the Canadian Press.
New LNG export facilities mean thousands of jobs, millions in government tax revenue, and an opportunity for Canada to help the world decarbonize — all the while advancing economic reconciliation with First Nations.
For the last few years, LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink have almost single-handedly saved the BC economy, certainly in the skilled trades and in the north. Those two projects, in addition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project and the Site C hydroelectric dam, make up a whopping 95% of construction jobs in BC and $100 billion in capital investment.
Now, as they are almost complete, Cedar LNG and Ksi Lisims LNG are coming onto the scene, two Indigenous-owned and led LNG (liquefied natural gas) export projects that will create prosperity for their people and clean energy for Asia.
Earlier this year, Cedar LNG, proposed by the Haisla Nation, received its environmental certificates to proceed from the BC and federal governments, a decision widely welcomed.
Now Ksi Lisims, advanced by the Nisga'a Lisims Government, Rockies LNG Partners and Western LNG LLC hit a major milestone this week by also submitting its application to the BC government for an Environmental Assessment Certificate.
"Ksi Lisims LNG will be one of the most significant Indigenous-supported industrial developments in Canadian history," the project said in a statement. "The project is an example of economic reconciliation in action: co-developed with the Nisga’a Nation and hosted on land owned in fee-simple by the Nisga’a Lisims Government.
"Once operational, Ksi Lisims LNG will produce 12 million tonnes of LNG per year. It is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and provide substantial financial benefits to the Nisga’a Nation, and to Indigenous nations across BC’s northwest."
The proposed site for the Ksi Lisims LNG project. Image from CBC News.
Highlights from the project’s planning and design include:
- A world-leading GHG management program, backstopped by a credible plan to be net zero by 2030.
- An electric-drive facility design that reduces emissions by 90 percent compared to a typical LNG production facility and is ready for hydroelectric grid connection at startup.
- A safe and remote site that minimizes wildlife impacts and protects traditional Indigenous and commercial harvests.
- Selection of floating LNG technology substantially reduces land disturbance.
- Offshore construction of the floating LNG reduces impacts on local infrastructure and services.
- On-site accommodations for construction and operations workers will limit community impacts and pressures on regional housing.
Now that the project has submitted its application for environmental assessment, a statutory 180-day period for review and comment by the technical advisory committee, participating Indigenous nations, regulatory agencies, and the public begins.
Six months from now, after that period ends, Ksi Lisims will refile an amended, final application incorporating what it hears from experts, other Indigenous nations and the public. The final step after that will be for the BC Environmental Assessment Office to then take 150 days to consider the application and recommend to the government whether the project should receive an Environmental Assessment Certificate to proceed or not.
Ksi Lisims will have the lowest GHG emissions intensity of any LNG export facility in the world and will be net-zero by 2030, according to proponents. The project will be a lynchpin of the First Nations Climate Initiative plan, and the floating design will lead to reduced impacts on the site and on communities in the region.
The infrastructure that will support the project, including electrical and natural gas transmission lines, will also enable opportunities for clean-energy growth in northwestern BC. Additionally, Ksi Lisims offers opportunities for more than 600 construction workers and over 150 operations workers.
Nisga'a Nation President, Eva Clayton said in a statement. “Ksi Lisims LNG is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our people to build prosperity and economic independence.”