B.C. Hydro approves 9 projects but pressure to build capacity remains

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B.C. Hydro has approved nine new wind-power projects that are projected to increase its electrical capacity by eight per cent, but the province has a ways to go before reaching its 2030 targets for increased electricity generation.

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Some experts say B.C. is struggling to meet its energy demands. The province imported 25 per cent of its electricity needs in the 12 months ending March 31.

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Others say that was a momentary blip due to drought and the electricity imports allowed replenishment of the reservoirs needed for hydro power.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix said Monday the provincial utility will hold power calls every two years to meet its need for 15 per cent more electricity over the next five years.

“It is really important the projects are built quickly,” said Dix. “We need them urgently, as I said, to provide clean renewable power for emissions, advanced First Nations reconciliation, to create jobs and opportunities for people, support innovation and attract energy investment.”

The province received 21 applications from First Nations-backed projects through the power call. Although there were proposals for solar development, all nine successful bids are for wind-power.

Combined they will generate 5,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually — enough to power half a million homes and the same amount as the Site C Dam, which is set to come online by fall 2025.

It is also significantly more than the 3,000 gigawatt hours Hydro hoped to get through the call for independent power producers.

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Eight of the nine projects have 51 per cent Indigenous equity, double the 25 per cent requirement laid down by the province. The other project has 49 per cent Indigenous equity.

Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, executive director of Clean Energy B.C. and a member of the Hupacasath First Nation, said this call represents $3 billion in financing and equity ownership for First Nations. Multiplied over additional power calls, that could have a huge impact.

“If we have a series of calls, and these are First Nations and rural areas all over the province, it drives home the reconciliation goals, the climate goals and economic development,” he said.

Dix said the successful projects, as well as all future wind projects in B.C., will also be able to skip the environmental assessment process and go right to permitting. All projects are expected to be completed by 2031, but the government believes most will be able to be completed sooner.

The original goal was to get the capacity on to the grid by 2028.

“We’re looking at 2028-2031 for these projects, the changes that we’ve made today in the regular regulatory process will advance that,” said Dix, explaining the exemption from environmental assessment will shave years off development.

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In calling for independent power producers, the NDP has shifted from its position while in opposition that B.C. has a surplus of power and that the previous B.C. Liberal government’s independent power producer program — which then premier John Horgan scrapped in 2018 — was an expensive giveaway to private industry.

The difference this time, said Premier David Eby, is that the call is competitive, includes majority First Nations involvement, and is significantly cheaper for taxpayers. He also said the program is important for economic development as the projects will draw between $5 billion and $6 billion in private investment.

“The B.C. Liberal government guaranteed certain hydro rates to projects regardless of the actual cost of production or whatever the market rate was. As a result, it put huge costs on rate payers,” said Eby.

“Under the new system, we got the big money out of politics and said, come in, bring your best bid, and we’re going to competitively select those proposals that deliver the most affordable rates.”

While the Ministry of Energy estimates the average price of a project included in this power call will be 40 per cent less than the B.C. Liberal program, when adjusted for inflation, there have been no prices released yet as 30-year contracts remain under negotiation.

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Barry Penner, a former B.C. environment minister and chair of Energy Futures Initiative, said the power call is a recognition of the challenges the province faces in meeting its energy needs. But even if all nine projects, plus the Site C dam, were online right now, B.C. would still have imported eight per cent of its electricity last year.

He also said the legislated shift to all new vehicles being electric by 2035, as well as the move by municipalities, including Vancouver, to ban the use of natural gas for heating in new buildings, will only increase demand.

“According to numbers I came across that were filed with the utilities commission, B.C. imported about $1.4 billion worth of electricity in just 12 months. That’s a record,” said Penner, estimating that the electric vehicle mandate will add several Site C Dams worth of demand.

Conservative Leader John Rustad also had concerns, pointing to the problems that wind power has had in places like Alberta and Germany during periods of extreme cold or cloudy weather.

He said there needs to be a renewed focus on a power mix that includes some fossil fuels, such as natural gas.

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“We are far better off having an honest and open conversation with people in the province about a power mix, where it comes from, what the costs are for various options, whether we want to look at natural gas or whether we want to look at nuclear,” he said.

Werner Antweiler, an energy economist at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business, disagrees with Penner’s assertion that B.C. is already in an energy shortage, as the imports in the past year were a feature of a unique level of drought.

He also said it is very unlikely wind power outages are going to be a big issue due to their dispersal across B.C. and the strong energy mix the province already has.

Antweiler doesn’t doubt, however, that provincial demand is set to skyrocket and the call for power is a step toward meeting that demand.

“I was not really surprised by the selection to favour wind projects, because it makes more sense in our province because of the generation profile and the way actually B.C. Hydro pays for the energy that they buy from the providers,” he said.

“The engagement of Indigenous communities is also very positive. It really provides economic opportunities for the communities, and a revenue stream that will be very predictable for the future.”

alazenby@postmedia.com

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