FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2026
Statement from Matt MacFarlane: Trade breakdown with the US presents economic opportunity for PEI energy sector
Charlottetown, PE – Canada continues to face serious challenges and adversities with our largest trading partner the United States. At a moment like this, I’m proud to see Islanders, Canadians and political parties looking for ways to come together, build our economy and strengthen our country.
PEI may be small, but we can play a big role in solving some of Canada’s largest challenges. One of our greatest opportunities is right in front of us: our electricity grid.
We are at a critical moment for PEI’s energy future. Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars locking Islanders into more fossil-fuel generation, we should be asking what that investment could do to modernize our grid, build battery storage and create room for more clean, renewable energy.
For perspective, $350 million is the amount currently being considered to buy two used 50 MW diesel turbines from a US company. Instead we could purchase roughly 100 MW battery storage for as little as $110 million.
That matters because batteries aren’t just a way to store electricity. They can help make a grid with more renewable energy work better. They can store power when supply is high and provide it when demand is high, making it easier to integrate new wind, solar and other renewable generation.
Batteries can also be distributed around the Island and connected to current and new renewable energy source locations which decreases electricity loss over long distance transmission. Locally placed batteries also allow more communities to stay powered – if one goes down the others stay up
We’re already seeing the benefits of batteries being taken advantage of in several other provinces. Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator recently awarded 640 MW of new generation across 14 projects – its first major procurement of new generation in more than a decade. Every one of these 14 projects paired renewable generation with battery storage.
PEI should be seriously looking at what we can learn from that model.
And we shouldn’t look at this as a PEI issue alone. This is an Atlantic Canadian opportunity.
New Brunswick brings transmission and energy expertise. Nova Scotia has major energy and industrial capacity. PEI can contribute renewable energy, agricultural innovation, opportunities to integrate energy with agriculture, and a manageable scale for testing and demonstrating new technologies.
We shouldn’t sit back and wait for Ottawa to design a program that happens to fit PEI.
We should put PEI-made ideas on the table and ask Canada to invest with us.
If we’re going to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in our energy system, Islanders deserve to know that we’re getting the greatest possible value; lower long-term costs, greater energy security, more renewable power and an opportunity to build new economic capacity here at home.
Now is the time to work with our Atlantic neighbours, think bigger than our borders and make the case for PEI.
We can build a stronger grid, a stronger Atlantic economy and a stronger Canada, and PEI can be part of leading that work.
Matt MacFarlane
MLA Borden-Kinkora
Leader of the Green Party of PEI
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca