Putting Highway 37 on the electric grid is a “stupid idea” masquerading as economic stimulus, environmentalist Will Horter says.
Premier Gordon Campbell announced earlier this week that B.C. will seek federal infrastructure funding for the electrification of Highway 37. The project would extend the power grid more than 300 kilometres north of Terrace, at a cost of $400 million.
Two years ago, after the Campbell government began to focus on climate change, the project was sold as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by getting the small communities along the highway off their “dirty diesel” generators.
At the time, environmentalists complained that the same result could be accomplished for a small fraction of the cost using micro-hydro power.
Now, with the economy tanking and climate change seemingly taking a lower profile in government, the electrification of Highway 37 is being sold as a recession fighter.
“The premier has taken a visionary approach to northwest B.C. electrification,” Initiatives Prince George president and CEO Tim McEwan said following Campbell’s pledge to seek federal infrastructure money. “By directing funds provided by the federal budget towards the electrification of Highway 37, the B.C. and federal governments would open up the development potential in the Northwest.”
But Horter, the executive director of the Dogwood Initiative, was less enthusiastic. He said he predicted such a move recently in an email to his group’s board.
“I’m not surprised,” Horter told The Tyee. “Every stupid idea is going to get floated as a stimulus package. The mining companies who can’t raise a nickel for anything are going to try to get the government to pay for this sucker.”
No matter how it’s been sold, the electrification of Highway 37 has always been about the government taking care of electricity, the single biggest cost for mining companies that hope to dig in B.C.’s far northwest, Horter said.
Despite the former attempts to sell the project as environmentally friendly, serious questions have been raised about the mining schemes by environmentalists and First Nations, he said. And the credit crunch and falling commodity prices have made northwest mining schemes even less viable, he added.
“In these economic times, I don’t think many of these mines would go forward. So this is just a really bad idea.”
Horter predicted that there’ll be promises of B.C. government money for other such projects in the coming days.
“I think we’re going to see in the Throne Speech and the budget in the next few weeks some really harebrained ideas that are couched as economic stimulus,” he said. “Every sunset industry and every industry that’s in trouble that’s ever had a wish list has dusted it off, put a nice ribbon around it and sent it to the premier’s office as a stimulus package.
“But if it looks like a bag of poo and it smells like a bag of poo it’s probably a bag of poo. It doesn’t matter what kind of little package you put around it.”
Tom Barrett is a contributing editor at The Tyee.
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Wilfred Laurier
3 years ago
Good one
“In these economic times, I don’t think many of these mines would go forward. So this is just a really bad idea.”
In the huge recession of 1983, the left said the same thing about Northeast Coal. Bill Bennett went ahead with the project and now if brings billions into the BC economy. You see, the best time to build infrastructure is when the boom ends; that is when you have the labour to do it without having huge cost overruns.
So here we have some granola munching bike riding "environmentalist" comfortably living in the city of Victoria, living off donations to his "charity" telling the government it should not try to bring jobs into the area in the province with the highest unemployment.
Does anybody see the irony here? Why doesn't Horter show up in the north and atttend a few town meetings and see the reception he gets!
reallife
3 years ago
NW development
Quote:
"environmentalists complained that the same result could be accomplished for a small fraction of the cost using micro-hydro power."
Isn't. Rafe Mair's band of "environmentalists" strongly opposed to small hydro?
I never thought I would agree with Will Horter as he is angrily against anything that could possibly provide jobs or boost the economy. But he is correct in noting that the mining industry is having a difficult time in the northwest. The Galore Creek project is on hold and outside agitators can usually find a few aboriginals who are willing to staff a blockade. However, if the infrastructure is put in place, development will follow even if it is a few years down the road.
seth
3 years ago
payoff
This is simply a payoff to Gordo's big campaign donators who want to get their Pirate Power Projects to market at public expense.
By the time the May election rolls around, this gang of thugs will have committed taxpayers to somewhere around 60 billion dollars in power purchases at costs up to 12 cents a kwh, 2 to 3 times what it would cost BCHydro to develop it. This power will come in at a time (late spring) when we don't need it anyway so it will be competing with nuclear on the export market. These are almost 100% capital cost projects with private hedge fund money coming in at 15% per annum and BCHydro's at 4% hence the 2 to 3 times Hydro cost.
Forecasts from Atomic Energy Canada for generation 3.5 nuclear are coming in at less than 3 cents a kwh with Hyperion's small nukes scheduled for 2011 deliveries at 2 cents a kwh and Paul Allen's small scale fusion technology at .5 cents.
Given that almost all of our forecasted needs can be met up to 10 years in the future, just by repatriating the Columbia treaty rights, if the forecasts or nuclear costs change and we can built run of the river projects with a year or two lead why commit us to 40 billion in waste?
Why is it that Ralph Sultan P.Eng Electrical Phd former CEO of RBC Securities sits on the back bench while some ex BCTel cable puller with a high school diploma is the energy minister?
Campbell wastes 40 billion on power, Glen Clarke 400 million on fast ferries, who would you vote for?
Do you neocons think the Gordo and gang have good business sense in the public's interest or just for stuffing their own pockets at taxpayer expense with campaign donations and dreams of future lucrative board of director positions?
Rod Smelser
3 years ago
HORTER'S BEST AND HARDEST SHOTS
Wilfred Laurier:
In the huge recession of 1983, the left said the same thing about Northeast Coal. Bill Bennett went ahead with the project and now if brings billions into the BC economy. ...
Bill Bennett pushed ahead with NE Coal because South Peace MLA Don Phillips, supposedly BC's Minister of Trade or some such thing, ordered him to. The electrified BCR spur to the coal fields was a tremendous white elephant, and some of the coal port at Rupert is now being reconfigured for containers because there's no need for it in shipping coal.
Why doesn't Horter show up in the north and atttend a few town meetings and see the reception he gets!
One of your few good ideas. Why don't you join him, Wilfred?
reallife:
Isn't. Rafe Mair's band of "environmentalists" strongly opposed to small hydro?
Mair was certainly opposed to the Upper Pitt River project and perhaps to some others. But I don't think it's accurate or fair to say he wouldn't approve of some of these projects. The IPP financial framework, like the P3 public works framework, which has just resulted in a decision by the BC Govt to trash a bridge that isn't even 50 years old yet, is another problem in its own right.
Will Horter? Will Horter? Where have I heard that name before? I know. He was the environmental leader who wrote a mass mailing to all Green Party members in Saanich-Gulf Islands ordering them not to field any candidate against Conservative Gary Lunn, so that the anti-Tory vote could be polarized behind Liberal Briony Penn, a UVic professor closely associated with Canada Research Chair Andrew Weaver.
The Greens refused and nominated a candidate in violation of Horter's orders. But then a while later, in what I am sure must be a sheer coincidence, a carefully lawyered press release "came forward" with the help of sometimes NDPer, sometimes Liberal Brad Zubyk, from two former Green Party members which ended the candidacy of New Democrat Julian West. So in the end, Horter prevailed in terms of winnowing the field by force.
Except for one thing. The voters thumbed their noses at Horter on October 14th and relected Lunn in spite of Horter's best and hardest shots.
Rod Smelser
3 years ago
seth: IS THERE A SOURCE?
seth
Forecasts from Atomic Energy Canada for generation 3.5 nuclear are coming in at less than 3 cents a kwh with Hyperion's small nukes scheduled for 2011 deliveries at 2 cents a kwh and Paul Allen's small scale fusion technology at .5 cents.
seth, is there a source for these figures?
Wilfred Laurier
3 years ago
Moot anyway
Common sense will prevail and the First Nations in along Highway 37 will finally get electricity. High time, too. The Premier knows he cannot please nay sayers because what is what the left does, say nay.
This is because the NDP does not have a platform and the Greens cannot get elected. It is all just a matter of how many seats Carole will keep. I'd wager about 30.
seth
3 years ago
nuke costs versus pirate power
At the time when all BC taxpayers will be paying tens of billions of dollars to Gordo's cronies in the Pirate power industry at 12 cents a kwh, citizens in other jurisdictions will be enjoying nuclear power at costs likely around 2 cents a kwh and with luck even lower than .5 cents.
The cost of the Westinghouse AP-1000 being being delivered to China is forecasted to drop to around 2 cents a kwh with proposed Chinese mass production plants. The ACR-1000 from AECL promises to be less expensive because it doesn't need a high pressure containment dome.
http://nuclearinfo.net/Nuclearpower/WebHomeCostOfNuclearPower
Delivered costs of $1400 kw for a small hot tub sized reactor with a 5 year life comes to 3.5 cents kwh electric. However because the reactor is small it is ideally suited to provide cogenerated steam for tar sands ops and to heat neighourhoods. This would reduce the cost to the 2 cent range. Delivery dates are 2013.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/09/update-hyperion-nuclear-power-generator.html
Finally some interesting pulse nuclear fusion applications with costs a few tenths of cent a kwh and service dates within the next ten years.. Here is one.
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Focus_Fusion
Another is funded by Microsoft Paul Allen.
And a third comes from two engineers working up a unit in Burnaby, and reported in January's Popular Mechanics.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
Micro-Hydro?
But then the same enviros such as Rafe and his merry band will complain about run-of-river micro-hydro power.
Another soap opera in the making.