New Brunswick has released a strategy on how to transition the province to clean energy.

The 12-year roadmap describes how the province is going to address the changing energy market.

The strategy focuses on four areas: affordability; energy security and reliability; regulatory reform; and economic growth.

“Our energy strategy balances addressing climate change with the growing energy needs and demands from all users in our province,” Premier Blaine Higgs said in a news release.

The strategy calls for 600 megawatts of new small modular reactor nuclear capacity at Point Lepreau by 2025.

It also lays out a significant increase in renewable energy: 1,400 megawatts of new wind power and 500 megawatts of solar power.

The plan also calls for the development of new energy sources, such as hydrogen and biofuels, as well as regional transmission upgrades between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to enhance interconnectivity.

Other highlights of the more than 50-page plan include:

• Retiring the diesel-powered Grand Manan Generating Station in 2025-2026
• Converting the coal-fired Belledune Generating Station to biomass by 2030
• Adding an additional 100 megawatts of energy storage by 2035
• Installing advanced metering across the province by 2025 and introducing a new off-peak energy rate for residential customers
• Establishing and deploying a plan to increase the public charging network for electric vehicles
• Releasing a hydrogen roadmap to incubate and develop the industry
• Establishing a regime for offshore wind projects, aiming for completion in 2024
• Streamlining the environmental approval process for new clean energy projects to find ways to move projects more quickly

“Climate change and the need to move away from greenhouse gas-emitting fuels are creating a global energy transition,” said Natural Resources and Energy Development Minister Mike Holland.

“Our actions will collectively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half by 2035, putting us well on our way to achieving a net-zero economy and creating new economic opportunities and prosperity for our province.”

You can view the strategy by clicking here.