The Bayside Generating Station (also known as Bayside Power) is a 284 MWnatural gas-fired power station located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It is owned and operated by NB Power.[1] The station was developed in the late 1990s as a repowering project at the former Courtenay Bay industrial site, where an existing heavy fuel oil–fired generating unit was converted and reconfigured as part of the development of a natural gas–fired combined-cycle facility.[2]
Bayside is a combined-cycle station in which exhaust heat from a gas turbine is recovered to produce steam for a secondary turbine.[3] Data from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation reports an estimated net thermal efficiency in the low-50% range for the technology category used at the plant.[4]
In 2022, NB Power replaced the station’s gas turbine and generator as part of a major upgrade intended to improve production efficiency and reduce emissions, with the work completed ahead of winter peak demand.[5][1]
History
There are 3 prominent red-and-white striped smokestacks at the site from the original Courtenay Bay Generating Station, which was built and expanded during the 1960s as an oil-fired steam plant.[6]
Bayside entered service in 1999 as Bayside Power LP, developed as a repowering of Courtenay Bay Unit 3, and supplied electricity to NB Power as well as export markets in the northeastern United States.[2][7]
On July 26, 2024, a roof fire at the station was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.[8]
Operations
Bayside produces lower greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt-hour than NB Power's older oil- and coal-fired stations such as Coleson Cove Generating Station and Belledune Generating Station. IRP planning indicates the plant will shift to a reduced or backup role after 2035 under federal Clean Electricity Regulation, with gas supply considerations during the coldest periods influencing dispatch.[1] The station’s planning end of life is in 2038.[1]
Regulatory filings associated with NB Power’s capital program and depreciation planning have also referenced the Bayside gas turbine upgrade as a material cost driver in the early 2020s.[9]
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