{"id":715549,"date":"2026-06-04T23:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715549\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:48:10","slug":"salt-dome-in-n-l-has-potential-to-be-battery-of-the-atlantic-says-triple-point-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/715549\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt dome in N.L. has potential to be ‘battery of the Atlantic,’ says Triple Point Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

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Attendees at the Energy NL conference in St. John’s heard the latest details on a compressed air energy storage project being proposed for Western Newfoundland.<\/p>\n

It’s a development proponent Triple Point Resources says can help the expanding energy grids in this province and even Nova Scotia in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

A description of the basic concept is one CEO Julie Lemieux has repeated many times, particularly through early public consultations and preparation of a filing to the province for environmental assessment.<\/p>\n

“We’re finalizing a few details right now, so hopefully in the next week or so we’ll have our registration done,” Lemieux told the CBC Thursday.<\/p>\n

‘Like pumping the tire on your bike’<\/p>\n

The idea of compressed air energy storage has more casually been described as “underground air batteries.”<\/p>\n

“It’s a little bit like pumping the tire on your bike,” Lemieux said.<\/p>\n

For example, rather than wasting water from spring run off, spilling it from hydro dam reservoirs as part of standard operations, or dumping electricity produced by wind turbines when there’s no demand or available transmission, Lemieux said a project like the one her company is proposing will convert and pack away the otherwise wasted energy in the form of compressed air.<\/p>\n

Triple Point Resources plans to store it underground, using the Fischells Salt Dome. It’s a natural feature of the land alongside Bay St. George.<\/p>\n

When energy is needed on the grid, the air is used to produce new electricity for distribution.<\/p>\n

\"AA diagram of Triple Point Resources’ salt dome energy storage concept. (Triple Point Resources)<\/p>\n

The space for storage in the salt dome structure by drilling holes, and feeding in water to dissolve and withdraw the salt currently filling underground caverns there. Per the company’s pitch, this element means there’s also potential for a new business in salt production, branching from energy development.<\/p>\n

Triple Point Resources was spun out from Atlas Salt in 2022, specifically to pursue potential energy development.<\/p>\n

Final investment decision tentatively 2027<\/p>\n

The environmental assessment process includes a public consultation component, in addition to review by provincial departments of the project proposal.<\/p>\n

If successful in moving through that process, the next step for the company would be further front-end engineering and design work, the CEO said, essential to final risk assessment and costing.<\/p>\n

While the company doesn’t control the length of the environmental review, the tentative timeline currently places a final investment decision in late 2027.<\/p>\n

Lemieux told CBC shovels could be in the ground within three years, with the compressed energy storage available within five.<\/p>\n

The CBC has reported before now on the company’s project concept, including back in spring 2025. There have been some small changes from then to now.<\/p>\n

There are now slightly higher estimates for potential employment. The current estimate, Lemieux said, is for 800 jobs in construction and 70 permanent jobs on the energy project.<\/p>\n

WATCH | ‘We can grow with the ambition of the province’:\"\"<\/p>\n

Fischells Salt Dome to be used for energy project<\/p>\n

Triple Point Resources CEO Julie Lemieux talks about the company’s proposed energy project in Western Newfoundland.<\/p>\n

The associated salt production could get up and running a little bit earlier, she suggested, adding to the job count if pursued.<\/p>\n

The CEO emphasized the project, once up and running, can expand as needed.<\/p>\n

“This asset is a true multi-generation asset that will develop over time. We can grow with the ambition of the province. If we need more electricity, if we need more power, we can do that. We can also support Nova Scotia with their own ambition, with their wind farms they want to build onshore, offshore,” Lemieux said.<\/p>\n

“This can really become the battery of the Atlantic. And we know we can do it.”<\/p>\n

Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-715549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}