The future of Churchill Falls is entering a new chapter.
Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec have reached a memorandum of understanding on a new long-term partnership that could reshape one of North America’s most significant renewable energy developments; including new generation, transmission and major investment in Labrador.
And for Rising Edge, there’s a unique perspective at the table.
💡 Rising Edge Thought Leadership Series: Meet Walter Parsons, VP of Business Development at Rising Edge Group
Prior to joining Rising Edge, Walter was an executive at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and a member of the Churchill Falls negotiating team, where he helped shape the commercial framework now central to Eastern Canada’s energy future.
His background also includes successful IBA negotiations with the Innu Nation of Labrador, helping bring the Labrador-Island Link project to completion, building out Hydro’s HVDC operations, and developing Hydro’s energy trading function from the ground up.
His mandate at Rising Edge is to bring that utility and commercial experience to the company’s growing renewable energy work across North America.
Here’s Walter’s take on what the Churchill Falls agreement could mean for the region — and beyond:
“With the support of the federal government, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec have reached an agreement on the future of the Churchill Falls plant, the second largest generator of renewable energy in North America. The agreement is fraught with political history, and it’s hard to find anyone in this part of the world who doesn’t have a strong opinion on it, but I am very optimistic about what can now be achieved with the two provinces burying the hatchet and focusing on what more can be built to sustain our economies out into the future.
It’s tough to overstate the scale of the projects that will be enabled by this agreement. We’re talking about nearly triple the current generating capacity at Churchill Falls, the long-discussed Gull Island project finally moving toward construction, a new 2,000 megawatt wind project in Labrador, and hundreds of kilometres of new transmission to get the new power to market. This is the largest clean energy investment in North American history. I am proud to have played a role in it, but mostly I am excited about what comes next.
Newfoundland and Labrador will finally start to receive market value for its energy, and will have access to power to unlock huge iron ore mining potential in western Labrador. The power and mining projects will mean thousands of construction jobs for almost an entire generation. With a commitment to prioritize hiring of Labrador Innu and residents of local communities, these projects will be transformative for our economy and leave a lasting positive legacy.
For Quebec, this secures decades of reliable renewable power on fair commercial terms. The agreement demonstrates the benefits of provinces working together to improve Canada’s energy security, with hydro, wind, and the transmission to move it, built by the people who live closest to it.
None of this is finished. The definitive agreements still need to be signed, and I know my former colleagues at Hydro have already started on this next phase. And I know that projects of this scale, spanning provinces, governments, and decades, are exactly where experienced infrastructure partners earn their place.
That’s the opportunity I see in front of Rising Edge right now. This buildout will need substations, collector systems, and high-voltage transmission lines delivered by teams who understand utility requirements and complex multi-stakeholder coordination. Rising Edge’s turn-key EPC model, and our experience in wind, hydro, and the electrification of mining projects, set us apart as a proven delivery partner, which projects of this scale demand.
Having worked on the utility side of major transmission builds like the Labrador-Island Link, I know firsthand what separates a contractor who can talk about this work from one who can actually deliver it. Rising Edge intends to play a role in building these projects, the same way we’ve shown up for high-voltage infrastructure projects across North America.
And of course, work at this scale means growing our team right alongside it; bringing in the skilled trades, technologists, engineers, project managers and project delivery teams who want to help build something that will define this region for decades.”
Want to Find Your STRIDE and be part of what’s next? Explore opportunities with Rising Edge: risingedgegroup.com/find-your-stride/