Enbridge Gas has outlined plans before city councillors for a new 14-kilometre pipeline to support ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s transition to green steel making.
The 12-inch pipe would run north-south across Hamilton, primarily alongside Centennial Parkway.
Enbridge says it’s proposal still requires public consultation, an environmental assessment and Ontario Energy Board approval.
The pipeline is meant to be operational by the end of 2025, and is meant to meet the increased demand for natural gas at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Burlington Street plant, until greener alternatives such as hydrogen become viable at a larger scale.
“This is a significant increase in load, and the existing infrastructure cannot meet that demand,” Enbridge’s Murray Costello told Hamilton’s general issues committee on Wednesday.
While stressing that he sees the business case, Ancaster Coun. Craig Cassar says he has mixed feelings about the proposal.
“This council has declared a climate emergency so any effort to reduce emissions should be lauded,” said Cassar, but he added that building any new natural gas infrastructure “could be seen as going in the wrong direction.”
Dofasco plans to fully switch from coal to electric arc furnaces in its Hamilton steelmaking by 2028, as it works towards an eventual goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“We are working with Enbridge and other partners on the possibility on hydrogen,” said ArcelorMittal Dofasco spokesperson Tony Valeri.
“At the scale that we require, we could start to see that somewhere beyond 2030.”