British Columbia unveiled a massive new investment in wind power on Monday, with new projects it says will match the amount of new electricity generated by the Site C dam by early next decade.
Premier David Eby was joined by ministers and the head of BC Hydro on Monday, to reveal the results of their call for private clean power proposals.
The new wind projects will create thousands of jobs, bring billions in private investment, provide affordable electricity, offer economic opportunity to First Nations and help tackle B.C.’s climate goals while diversifying the power grid, Eby said.
“It is a massive win,” Eby said.
“The moment we are in, we are seeing major jurisdictions move away from clean energy investment … that presents a huge opportunity for us.”
When BC Hydro issued its call for proposals in April, it was seeking 3,000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to about five per cent of B.C.’s power capacity.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said BC Hydro received proposals for three times that amount of power.
It ultimately signed 30-year electricity purchase agreements with nine wind projects to produce 5,000 gigawatt hours, enough to power half a million homes, Dix said.
“We are boosting our power supply by 8 per cent. And if that sounds familiar, it is the same amount Site C will contribute to the grid,” Dix said.
“These projects represent between $5 billion to $6 billion in capital spending throughout the province and create approximately 2,000 jobs annually during construction.”
Dix said the price B.C. would pay for the electricity was a key consideration in the selection of the projects.
He said the province can’t reveal the price until final purchase agreements have been signed, but that they are about 40 per cent lower than the last time the province put out a call for power in 2010.
The successful proposals far surpassed the province’s requirement to have at least 25 per cent First Nations equity.
Eight of the nine projects will have 51 per cent First Nations ownership, while one will have 49 per cent. The province estimates that will translate into about $3 billion of First Nations equity.
Four of the projects will be in B.C.’s north, two will be in the Southern Interior and one will be on Vancouver Island.
In an effort to speed construction, the province will also exempt these and all future wind power projects from the environmental assessment process, with “urgency” being the word of the day, Dix said.
B.C. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson said that exemption will be implemented “while our robust environmental permitting processes remain in place and while we make sure that First Nations are full partners.”
BC Hydro estimates its demand for electricity will climb by 15 per cent by 2030, amid a growing population and a shift to electrification for both transportation and home heating.
Recent droughts have put significant pressure on the province’s power supply, the vast majority of which is generated through hydroelectricity. As a result, BC Hydro had to import about a quarter of its electricity over the last 12 months.
BC Hydro says the plan is to have some of the projects online, with all in operation by 2031.
The Crown corporation said it plans to conduct similar calls for power every two years, based on demand.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.