Near Williams Lake, Morehead Valley Hydro – another microhydro power producer that has been selling power to BC Hydro for three decades – has already been told the Crown-owned utility is walking away.In the past 12 months, BC Hydro has chosen to let three energy purchase agreements expire without renewal.In fact, B.C. was on track to be a net importer of electricity last year. Drought and cold weather drove demand beyond BC Hydro’s supply. But that’s not the preferred narrative of Mr.
“The previous government chose the parent-knows-best approach to creating energy supply, and the consequence of that are billions and billions of dollars that are left on the table, or even worse, leaving the province elsewhere for shareholders rather than coming into the public treasury to meet the demands of more supply,” Mr. Horgan said.
The decision to move ahead with Site C, which had started construction under the former Liberal government, was a devastating blow to Indigenous communities that have looked to renewable energy as an industry that can help them work toward self-sufficiency, said Judith Sayers, President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Ms. Sayers was instrumental in building the Hupačasath’s power project when she served as elected chief of that community.
Clean BC, the province’s road map to meet targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, calls for the electrification of transport, buildings and industry. In addition, the proponents of the Chevron-Woodside Kitimat LNG project announced last week their intent to build the proposed facility using electric drive technology. The one project alone could use two-thirds of all the energy provided by Site C, according to Jihad Traya, an energy adviser for Solomon Associates.