BC Hydro announced Monday it has awarded contracts to buy electricity from several wind-power projects with First Nation partnerships across the province.
In April, the provincial power authority put out a request for project proposals, with the goal of acquiring 3,000 gigawatt hours per year of electricity to add five per cent to BC Hydro’s current supply. It marked BC Hydro’s first competitive call for power in 15 years.
The newly appointed B.C. Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, Adrian Dix, says the province and BC Hydro received 21 proposals and awarded nine 30-year contracts to wind projects.
The provincial government says the nine projects will provide nearly 5,000 gigawatt hours per year — that’s enough electricity to power 500,000 new homes, boosting BC Hydro’s current supply by eight per cent. It says electricity demand in B.C. is expected to increase by 15 per cent or more by 2030.
Dix says the projects represent between $5 billion and $6 billion in private capital spending and will create approximately 2,000 jobs annually in project construction.
Eight of the nine projects, Dix says, will have 51 per cent equity ownership held by First Nations.
“The resounding response with the call for power and the quality and breadth of the projects are testimony to the strength of the renewable energy sector in our province and to First Nations leadership on clean energy,” said Dix.
“In short, we need more power: this gives us more power. We need urgent action on climate change: this is urgent action on climate change. We need to ensure the First Nations are involved in the economic development of the province and have an equity interest: it does just that.”