British Columbia unveiled a massive new investment in wind energy Monday, with new projects he says will match the amount of new electricity produced by the Site C dam by the start of the next decade.
Prime Minister David Eby was joined by ministers and the head of BC Hydro Monday, to reveal the results of their call for private proposals on clean energy.
The new wind projects will create thousands of jobs, generate billions in private investment, provide affordable electricity, provide economic opportunities for First Nations and help meet B.C.’s climate goals while diversifying the electricity grid, Eby said.
“It’s a massive win,” Eby said.
“Right now, we’re seeing large jurisdictions moving away from clean energy investments… which represents a huge opportunity for us.” »
When BC Hydro launched its call for proposals in Aprilit was looking for 3,000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which is equivalent to about five per cent of British Columbia’s electricity capacity.
Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said BC Hydro has received proposals for three times the amount of electricity.
It ultimately signed 30-year power purchase agreements with nine wind projects to produce 5,000 gigawatt hours, enough to power half a million homes, Dix said.
“We are increasing our electricity supply by 8 percent. And if that sounds familiar, that’s the same amount that Site C will contribute to the network,” Dix said.
“These projects represent between $5 billion and $6 billion in capital expenditures across the province and create approximately 2,000 jobs per year during construction. »
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Dix said the price British Columbia would pay for electricity was a key factor in selecting projects.
He said the province could not reveal the price until final purchase agreements were signed, but it was about 40 per cent lower than the last time the province appealed for electricity in 2010.
The successful proposals far exceeded the province’s requirement of having at least 25 per cent First Nations participation.
Eight of the nine projects will be 51 percent owned by First Nations, while one project will have 49 percent. The province estimates this will result in approximately $3 billion in First Nations equity.
Four of the projects will be located in northern British Columbia, two in the southern interior and one on Vancouver Island.
In an effort to speed up construction, the province will also exempt these and all future wind energy projects from the environmental assessment process, with “urgency” being the word of the day, Dix said.
British Columbia Environment Minister Tamara Davidson said the exemption will be implemented “as long as our robust environmental authorization processes remain in place and we ensure that First Nations are full partners.”
British Columbia Conservative Leader John Rustad said abandoning the environmental assessment project was “a mistake.”
“People need to fully understand what impact these wind projects have on our environment,” he said.
Rustad, who called on the province to turn to nuclear power to diversify its energy grid, also raised questions about the use of wind power.
“Wind power is unreliable, it is intermittent and it cannot be a major part of our generation in the future,” he said.
“Wind power is very expensive, what I’m hearing is it’s twice as expensive as our overall electricity costs in British Columbia today. »
BC Hydro estimates its electricity demand will increase by 15 per cent by 2030, amid population growth and a transition to electrification for transportation and home heating.
Recent droughts have placed considerable pressure on the province’s electricity supply, the vast majority of which is generated by hydroelectricity. As a result, BC Hydro had to import around a quarter of its electricity over the past 12 months.
BC Hydro says its plan is to bring some of the projects online, and have all of them operational by 2031.
The state-owned utility said it plans to issue similar energy appeals every two years, depending on demand.
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