in the news

 

Presentation to the Select
Standing Committee on Finance
and Government Services

B.C. CItizens for Green Energy co-spokeperson, Bruce Sanderson,
made a presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance
and Government Services on Friday, October 16, 2009.

 

Harrison Lake run-of-river project benefits In-SHUCK-ch First Nation

“When the run-of-river hydro project on Harrison Lake soon begins
generating its first watts of clean electricity, something truly amazing
is going to happen for the people of the In-SHUCK-ch First Nation.”
- (Michael Smyth, The Province: June 7, 2009) -

 

The NAFTA question: new report

A new white paper report finds nothing in NAFTA that would force B.C.
to allow an Independent Power Producer (IPP) to export water and nothing
that would force B.C. to permit the continued use of crown land
by an IPP beyond the termination date of a lease

 

Sechelt and Klahoose First Nations slam opponents of run-of-river

The Chiefs of the Sechelt and Klahoose First Nations sent a scathing joint letter to the “well organized, well funded” groups involved in the campaign against green energy run-of-river projects. The March 20, 2009 is addressed to
COPE 378, BC Citizens for Public Power, Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Sunshine Coast Conservation Association, Save Our Rivers Society
and the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.

 

IPP Fact sheet released by Ministry

Ministry of Energy releases fact sheet on independent power production to
correct misleading claims about electricity generation in British Columbia.

 

Environmentalist expresses support for renewable energy projects

Tzeporah Berman speaks out in support of independent renewable
energy projects in BC: “I personally don’t care if renewables are built by
Martians.  We need to get it done right but we need to get it done.”

 

The independent advantage

“Independent power projects are good for the community,
good for BC Hydro and a good way to ensure power for the future.”

 

Outsiders know what’s best for Bute

Controversy about the Bute Inlet run-of-river proposal
reflects a rural-urban divide in which “debate has been taken over
by residents of urban centres whose perceptions are less than accurate.”

 

Sustainable electricity will help
sustain 50,000 Ontario jobs

A bold new program that’s “way past due,” according to the Ontario NDP,
the province’s Green Energy Act tackles climate change and the economy
with an estimated 50,000 new jobs in three years.

 

You won’t hear this
from her B.C. colleagues

A former Ontario NDP cabinet minister and long-time community activist
calls for urgent action on renewable electricity. She says
a rigorous environmental review does not require
unnecessary delays and uninformed criticism.

 

The Wilderness Committee
campaign: ‘anti-environmental
and anti-aboriginal’

Tom Fletcher examines Wilderness Committee policy and the
“loud, rehearsed voices of the BC Hydro union-backed campaign
against private power development.”

 

A union focuses its 20/20 vision
on green energy

Responding to BC Hydro’s flip-flopping forecasts,
the Construction, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union Local 2020
urges the utility to stay the course for the sake of the economy,
environment and local communities.

 

Dispelling the myths

An environmental consultant and fisheries biologist responds
to the vehement attacks against clean, renewable electricity.

 

‘Truth and facts do not even enter
into their blathering’

Klahoose First Nation Chief Ken Brown challenges “the NDP and
their pseudo-environmentalist bought-and-paid-for associates”
for their blatant campaign of self-interest and misinformation.

 

A Clayoquot veteran evaluates
B.C.’s ‘environmentalists’

“I think the opposition that we’re seeing in B.C.
by some environmental groups to the move toward green power —
the whole kind of ‘save-our-rivers’ piece — needs to be rethought.”
—Tzeporah Berman

 

Ontario moves forward
while BC Hydro steps back

Six new wind farms, $72 billion in investment, 52,000 jobs
and enough clean, renewable electricity for nearly 145,000 homes
— Ontario plans for the future while BC Hydro dithers.

 

Wind energy jobs in Europe
will more than double by 2020

This one area of the green economy alone
will employ around 330,000 Europeans in 11 years.

 

The truth, the whole truth...
or the Wilderness Committee version

Another Wilderness Committee stump speech
plays politics while omitting crucial environmental info.

 

‘Political jolt’ needed to overcome
Alberta’s anti-green status quo

Vested interests want to keep Alberta dependent on dirty electricity.
They stand in the way of job creation, GHG cuts and stable energy prices.
Any of this sound familiar?

 

The Green Party attacks
run of river and democracy

Writing on behalf of the Green Party, a Green Party member claimed
Green Party members and only Green Party members can pass judgment
on clean electricity proposals. Another writer takes him to task
after two Campbell River papers printed his dictatorial declaration.

 

As BC Hydro cuts back,
Alberta and the U.S. could cut us off

BC Hydro’s 40-per-cent cut to its Clean Power Call leaves us
with an even greater reliance on dirty power imports which could be
cut off at any time. The problem is especially acute for Vancouver Island,
which produces only a third of its own electricity. While BC Hydro pushes ahead
with the controversial Site C dam proposal, some people are asking if its clean
energy cutbacks result from the province’s powerful anti-green lobby.

 

Obama plans half a million
green collar jobs

As BC Hydro steps back from green electricity, the next U.S. president
intends to create nearly 500,000 jobs by doubling alternative energy
and improving energy efficiency.

 

Quixote’s last stand?

Just one per cent of Canada’s electricity comes from the wind.
But the Prairies, the Great Lakes, the Atlantic provinces and B.C. all
have enormous potential for wind energy. Although some local residents
are still wary of the new development, Canada could be on the verge
of a breakthrough that will complement our hydro assets.

 

Vancouver Island produces
less than one-third of its electricity

Meanwhile its electricity consumption will
increase nearly 50 per cent by 2025.

 

Bogus environmental group
has $2.2-million war chest

Even in a recession year the Wilderness Committee has millions to spend
on its political campaign against independently produced clean electricity.
That’s just part of the money being spent by a tightly knit alliance
pushing a program of myths and misinformation.

 

They call themselves
environmentalists?

Accompanied by at least one paid campaigner from the Wilderness Committee,
a rent-a-mob from outside the region shouts down a proposal to develop
clean electricity, increase fish habitat and bring back other wildlife.

 

Miller Creek:
The Wilderness Committee’s
propaganda hobby horse

In its campaign against independently produced clean electricity,
the Wilderness Committee cites a September 2007 incident again and again,
as if it proves their case. But a balanced look at the facts shows that tougher
standards have been imposed on all run-of-river developments since this project
was approved eight years ago. The September 2007 incident was isolated, the
company has made several improvements since then and residents are satisfied.
Just don’t expect the facts to intrude on WC propaganda.

More on Miller Creek here.

 

The NDP works with IPPs
– in Manitoba

More evidence that B.C.’s anti-IPP campaign is purely political:
Virtually no one in B.C. opposed independently produced clean electricity
when it was being developed here under an NDP government. Manitoba’s NDP
government campaigned heavily on its wind energy policy, in which the Crown
utility buys clean electricity from independents. Now an agreement between
Manitoba Hydro and an independent partnership will result in Manitoba’s
second — and Canada’s largest — wind farm.

 

Let the sun shine brightly
on our environment and economy

At first the clean energy movement was driven largely by global warming and a
diminishing supply of fossil fuels. Now, concerns about an economic recession
inspire even more interest. This example from Australia shows how miners are
responding to these challenges by converting to solar energy.

Solar energy does’t require a hot, dry southern climate, either.
Germany has proven that. B.C. could follow its example.

 

Green energy
can bring a green economy

Wind energy projects face a two-year wait for infrastructure, often imported from
Europe. Ontario, meanwhile, leads Canada in wind farms but has an ailing
manufacturing sector. Retooled factories could rejuvenate the economy.

 

Environmentally sustainable
but financially risky

Whistler’s run-of-river development looks promising but the
Dokie wind farm is in trouble. The latter case shows that advocates
of a public power monopoly miss the point about risk.

 

The CBC gives sensational treatment
to stale news

Run-of-river opponents claim this isolated incident proves their case.
Now the CBC helps them out by picking up an old story,
dusting it off and giving it scary treatment.

 

Anti-IPP myths
meet the real world of risk

Opponents of clean electricity claim that independents will reap windfall profits
while consumers pay skyrocketing rates. But the Dokie wind project shows
that independents face serious financial risk at every stage of the process,
even after an electricity purchase agreement is made. If BC Hydro
were developing these projects, consumers would suffer.

 

‘Tape and twine’ hold together
our electricity infrastructure

BC Hydro is expanding, and not a moment too soon. Decades of neglect have left
the utility’s heritage assets desperately in need of upgrades and replacements.
As part of a proposed capital spending plan that could hit $6.4 billion over the
next three years, BC Hydro is hiring people to do practical work: “engineers,
people to run projects, people on the ground turning tools and such.”

 

There goes BC Hydro –
with more staff, more spending
and more expansion

A 40-per-cent staff increase and $5.3 billion in spending over three years
indicate massive plans for the Crown utility. This, despite allegations that
BC Hydro is being “privatized.”

 

Blue collars turn green with new jobs

Clean energy infrastructure brings hope to the declining U.S. Rust Belt.
And despite heightened economic fears elsewhere, the new industry
looks solid due to its “unstoppable momentum.”

 

Nova Scotia goes with the flow
of tidal energy

Home to some of the world’s strongest tides, Nova Scotia’s Minas Passage has attracted
three groups of companies who’All test different approaches to generating electricity.
The results could be big news for B.C., where tidal energy is potentially huge.

 

Slow and cautious
blow the winds of change

Despite all our potential, Canada was a late entry into the world of wind energy.
B.C. will be later yet.

 

Clean electricity projects
an economic advantage
during uncertain times

The high price of fossil fuels and the need to catch up with demand
show that clean electricity projects can mitigate a worldwide economic downturn.

 

They call this privatization?

Far and away the province’s largest producer of electricity, BC Hydro is
getting bigger with a massive $5.3-billion program of upgrades and expansion.
And that does’t include the proposed Site C dam, which would be
the province’s largest generation project in decades.

 

On top of old Dokie

B.C.’s first wind farm is just months away from providing clean electricity.
But while consumers and the environment benefit,
the independent producer takes the risk.

 

Electrification could help create
10,000 jobs in northwestern B.C.

A proposed 335-kilometre transmission line north of Terrace
could spur jobs in mining, tourism, clean energy and other industries
in a region where unemployment is high.

 

Run of river sans hysteria

Sun reporter Scott Simpson considers different sides of the controversy
while taking a first-hand look at the Ashlu River project.

 

Run of river helps keep
Whistler sustainable

After six years of studies and reviews, work has started on
the Fitzsimmons Creek Hydro Project, which will provide enough
clean electricity for all of Whistler Blackcomb’s operations. Located
entirely within the resort, the project’s environmental standards will
complement the world-renown destination.

 

North America’s most rigorous
environmental regimen

Our province’s late entry into wind development can be attributed partly to
“the most stringent environmental regulations in North America.”
Meanwhile Northern Lights College is developing courses
for B.C.’s burgeoning green collar sector.

 

‘Electricity shortage
may choke B.C.’s gas patch’

Neither B.C. nor Alberta can supply Fort Nelson with enough electricity.
In the land of North America’s “hottest natural gas play,” the electricity shortage
threatens consumers with blackouts, industry with cutbacks and, ironically,
the viability of both fossil fuel extraction and carbon sequestration.

 

Why BC Hydro can’t
develop clean electricity

Independent electricity producers give BC Hydro the ability to cherry-pick
from a wide range of competitive proposals. Ratepayers benefit from
“really robust competition.” As for all those projects that don’t make it,
“the risk rests entirely with the private sector, not with Hydro's customers.”

 

Risings costs, real risks...
and people wonder why BC Hydro
can’t develop clean electricity

Independent electricity producers face minimal profits or even loss
of their entire investment. Meanwhile BC Hydro, as a public utility,
loses nothing and consumers are protected from rising rates.

 

Scotland looks to run of river
for renewable energy

“Hydropower has long been the quiet renewable
and this will stimulate development of new projects of all sizes
in a country which has already embraced the
benign and significant role of this technology.”

 

Canadian demand for
green energy workers will skyrocket

A new service called Clean Energy Classrooms helps people find education
and training opportunities to meet the rapid job growth in clean electricity.

 

‘Sun may soon shine
on solar-powered revolution’

The tremendous potential of renewable electricity
inspires confidence in our planet’s future.

 

Peace region wind farms:
part of the environmental solution

A journalist weighs the pros and cons
of B.C.’s belated development of wind energy.

 

B.C. and Manitoba now lead
the country in electricity efficiency

B.C.’s plan for self-sufficiency through conservation and new technology
gets top marks from the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance.

 

What’s holding up B.C. wind energy?
73 levels of bureaucracy

“A fearsome bureaucratic gauntlet of 73 different levels of applications,
approvals and licences for three levels of government” helps explain why
B.C. lags behind other provinces and countries, despite our superior potential.

 

‘First Nations support green
run-of-river power projects’

“The anti-IPP movement would be wise to tone down the rhetoric,
get their facts straight and work positively with us to build a better industry.”

 

B.C. power outages
‘reveal aging infrastructure’

“Blackouts in two major B.C. cities in as many days point to a
province-wide need to replace aging infrastructure, experts say.”

 

BC Hydro is ‘incapable of innovation.
Heck, they’re still wearing
plaid pants and sideburns.’

Although this entrepreneur calls B.C. “the Saudi Arabia” of
renewable energy sources, he’s heading east for better opportunities.
B.C., he says, does’t do enough to foster clean electricity.

 

B.C.’s ‘emotion-packed world
of power generation’

An ideology expressed through shouting and jeering
prevents rational discussion about B.C.’s energy future.

 

Wind energy can create
3,000 B.C. jobs

BC Hydro’s latest clean-energy call could bring
$4 billion in investment and 3,000 jobs.

 

We could be ‘the
environmentally friendly version
of Alberta’s oil and gas’

But despite B.C.’s enormous potential for green energy,
“we’ve seen a lack of progress here compared to other countries.”

 

‘A model for sustainable,
ecologically sound development’

“Some renewable energy opposition groups based in Vancouver
have tried to generate opposition to all such projects, including Canoe Creek.
These groups, backed by labour unions and the NDP, think that only BC Hydro
should have the right to develop hydro power in the province, and they have been
trying to generate fear and opposition to independent power projects.”

 

Chilcotin run-of-river proposal
gets local support

“If acceptable safeguards and monitoring are put in place,
then run-of-the-river projects should not be considered in a negative sense.”

 

Ucluelet considered ideal
for wave energy

Two companies are investigating the potential of wild Pacific storms.

 

‘Power project propels
First Nations band’

A reporter takes a first-hand look at a run-of-river project
and learns about the benefits to the community.

 

‘Klahoose chief blasts
NDP river stance’

Ken Brown, chief of the Klahoose First Nation, asks:
“What whiz kid in the NDP brain trust came up with the idea
of opposing sustainable run-of-river, green power developments?”

 

‘I’am opposed to NDs
opposing everything on green file’

Province columnist Michael Smyth compares NDP policy
to the Groucho Marx refrain: “Whatever it is, I’am against it.”

 

‘Pioneering wind power’

Europe shows how B.C. can develop new energy sources
with minimal environmental impact.

 

B.C.’s obligations to future generations

‘Independent power producers can play an important part
in securing our future energy supply. They are not the only solution,
but an important part of the overall solution.’

 

‘Dam numbers’

The Vancouver Sun tears apart
the NDP’s supposed facts and figures.

 

‘Let’s keep an open mind
about future run-of-river projects’

A Province editorial notes the advantages
of run of river while refuting some myths.

 

‘A green mix and match of facts’

24 Hours columnist Erin Airton examines the fear-mongering
and misinformation spread by opponents of green energy,
as well as the contradictory stance held by some environmentalists.

 

‘It’s time to pull the plug on foes
of cleaner, greener hydro power’

In the Vancouver Province, Alan Ferguson discusses
the motivations behind the groups fighting green energy in B.C.

 

ARTICLES

Dry winter to blame for BC Hydro decision to boost energy imports
BY SCOTT SIMPSON, VANCOUVER SUN MAY 15, 2010

Another dry summer to ponder
By Tom Fletcher - BC Local News May 18, 2010

Resources for further research

 

 

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