Energy Company Top criticized for visiting Norway – Dagbladet.no

(Dagbladet): Co2 chief Mike Monea, in the Canadian state-owned energy company SaskPower, receive harsh criticism for his spending during trips abroad in recent years.

Between 2009 and 2014 Monea have submitted expense reports totaling 476,143 Canadian dollars, equivalent to about 3.1 million.

90 000 on Norwegian tour

The expenditure shall be accumulated by Canadians tours worldwide, where he promoted the company’s technology for carbon capture.

On a 13 days long trip to Norway, England and France should Monea have submitted travel expense of over 90 000, writes Global News.

Adresseavisa mentioned Mone’s visit in June 2013 during the seventh annual conference on carbon capture and storage.

– Suspekt

The state-owned energy company SaskPower is based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Oposisjonspolitiker Cameron broke, Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP), is one of those who reacts powerfully on the high expenses that are paid by the country’s taxpayers.

– A large part of this travel activity is suspicious, he said according to CBC .

He is questioning that Monea has spent vast sums on promoting the company’s technology for capturing and storing CO2 – technology that broke mean not working properly.

– What is he selling? There are no clear answers from the government about it, says broke.

Defender cost

Director for SaskPower, Mike Marsh, defends the high expenses that it one day will be a market for their technology.

– It may seem like we are right now is very early. But unless we get out into the world and get established our position in the market, will not opportunities emerge by itself, says Marsh according to Global News.

SaskPower was widely publicized in Norwegian push when the company in 2014 opened Canada’s first full-scale plant for CO2 capture and storage, with the plant Boundary Dam in Alberta.

The resort had a price tag of 8.3 billion. By comparison, Norway used around 7 billion on moon landing project at Mongstad, before it was shelved in 2013.

– we think that the project in Norway has a very high cost. It is not very big help when the world will be convinced that CO2 capture can be cost effective, said director Monea to Bergens Tidende in 2013.