First, I'd like to make this point, and I think Mr. Russell will understand why. It's been crystal clear as well that Newfoundland and Labrador's needs are to be met first. We just think we have excess power. Labrador is going to be first on the list, and the island is going to be looked after as well. So it's the excess we're talking about.
As for the time constraints that we have right now, looking at our project plan, why are we picking 2009 to put shovels in the ground? Well, the environmental process is the critical path on that. So we looked at everything that we're doing now with respect to project planning, the engineering, the market access work, the discussions with the Innu Nation—all the work that's going on—and we added the environmental piece of that. The environmental process has to be completed, and we respect that fully. We want to do an extensive analysis. That's the piece that has to be completed. That's what's driving us to 2009.
Following 2009, assuming we get through that process, we think everything else will be in place so that we will be in a position to put shovels in the ground, commit the big dollars. At that point, our project planning shows us that it will be a six-year timeframe, which is not that long for a project of this magnitude. It's in 2015 that we'll be counting first power, but actually the first units would be on in 2014.
From our discussions with Ontario and the U.S. markets, I know many of these places have experience with these big projects and they're looking at those timeframes as well. And actually, if you look at the load curves we were talking about and you look at the potential shortfalls of power, both in New England and throughout Canada, you'll see we are actually marrying up quite nicely on that schedule as to when these things really have to be met.