Odds of a second wind project becoming a reality in B.C.'s Peace River region increased after a shortlist released by BC Hydro kept the door open for seven of 10 proposed projects.
“We're delighted that the next step of the process is underway,” said TJ Schur, director of external relations for Aeolis Wind Power, who are aiming to build the 320-megawatt Thunder Mountain wind project located 33 kilometres southeast of Tumbler Ridge. “I would be optimistic that there's a recognition there's a good wind resource in the South Peace.” *
Earlier this week, the crown corporation announced it was paring down the list of independent power project hopefuls from 68 applicants to 47. Of that number, 13 unnamed projects have been approved (subject to adequate First Nations consultation), while another 34 projects could go ahead if they can make their projects more cost-effective.
Five of the seven projects could be built near Tumbler Ridge, with others on track for Chetwynd and near Hudson's Hope. In all, 10 of the 47 remaining proposed projects across B.C. are comprised of wind power.
“I take it as a fairly good indication that BC Hydro felt these seven projects were ready to go on in development,” said Schur. BC Hydro will now contact those 47 proponents to discuss cost-effectiveness. The Crown corporation and the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) are essentially looking for projects to prove they are low-risk, she added.
The 47 projects remaining make up a combined 13,000 gigawatt hours of new power, far more than the 5,000 gigawatt hours BC Hydro sought in its 2008 Clean Power Call. Since issuing the call, BC Hydro indicated it may only be pursuing 3,000 gigawatt hours of electricity. Despite the uncertainty, Tumbler Ridge mayor Larry White said he's “happy to see the process working - its been a long time coming.”
The fate of clean power in B.C. was made murky in July by a BCUC decision to reject a key B.C. Hydro planning document. The commission threw out the 2008 long-term acquisition plan, a document that sets out BC Hydro’s balance between energy conservation and new power production over the next decade. But it left the door open by noting BC Hydro still “has the scope, with or without Commission endorsement” to enter into electricity purchase agreements (EPAs).
However, that air of uncertainty led Capital Power to have the province's environmental assessment office put a hold on the environmental assessment application for their Quality Wind Project in October.
Dawson Creek's 102-megawatt Bear Mountain Wind Park began supplying power to the BC Hydro grid earlier this month.
* On Nov. 24 the electricity output figure for the Thunder Mountain wind project was corrected.
Greg Amos reports for The Tyee.
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ME2
2 years ago
Maye
It all depends, IMO. on the guaranteed price for Hydro, we'll be paying them.
ME2
2 years ago
Maybe
It all depends, IMO. on the guaranteed price for Hydro we'll be paying them.
seth
2 years ago
BCHydro is now privatized.
According to British Columbia public accounts, BC's total contractual obligations amounted to $52 billion, $22 of that from BCHydro IPP contracts. With soon to be added new contracts of $10 billion and a just announced call for 5000 gigawatts costing $24 billion that figure will rise to $86 billion.
BCHydro won't need the Pirate's power for a few years and will have to sell most of that new must buy power on the open market at a price averaging 3 cents a kilowatt hour a 75% loss. Five years from now with 35 years to go on the average contract, if there is support for massive action against global warming, mass produced nuclear will cost as little as 1 cent a kilowatt hour. BCHydro losses will amount to around 95% or $50 billion on the entire set of IPP contracts.
Close to 90% of BCHydro's five year and beyond costs is now contracted Pirate Power purchases effectively privatizing it, and rates will have to more than double to cover it. Of course by then every business that uses electricity will have moved to Alberta and BCHydro will be bankrupt.
In any private business, these "obligations" appear as debt but with Canwest/Gordo's new slick accounting practices they appear as a footnote to the provinces finance report. BC's debt on the books and erroneously bragged about by Canwest pundits and ignored by the our yappy but uninformed progressive media is really $118 billion almost all of it accumulated during the Canwest/Gordo administration.
Numerous times Rafe Mair and other commentators have tried to point all this out during the election campaign to that moron Carole James. She the rest of the her weenies were too stupid to run with it in a campaign where all the polls were saying the economy was most important and the public erroneously trusted Canwest/Gordo with it more than the NDP.