Province Sends Message to BCUC

Thursday, October 29, 2009 03:59 AM

Victoria, B.C.- The Province has sent a clear message to the BC Utilities Commission, the Burrard power plant is on the way out, and BCUC needs to get on with approving new, cleaner power projects.

BC Hydro has been planning to reduce its reliance on Burrard, as proposed in its recent Long Term Acquisition Plan, to help meet the legislative target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent by 2012, 18 per
cent by 2016, and 33 per cent by 2020. The direction just given to the BCUC is consistent with the government's Climate Action Plan, BC Energy Plan, and the Utilities Commission Act.

Effective immediately Burrard will no longer be used for planning purposes for firm energy. It will only be used for up to 900 megawatts of emergency capacity.

"In providing this direction, BC Hydro will replace the firm energy supply from Burrard Thermal with clean, renewable and cost-effective energy," says Blair Lekstrom Minister of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources. "Ending our reliance on energy from Burrard Thermal for planning purposes is also a critical component of B.C.'s greenhouse gas reduction strategy."

Burrard will no longer be relied upon for energy but will continue to be available to provide emergency back-up power in the event of generation or transmission outages.
Typically, Burrard's actual operation is less than 10 per cent of what it is capable of generating per year.

This decision will also allow BC Hydro to continue to acquire 6,000 GWh of cost- effective, clean and renewable power. This includes up to 5,000 GWh from the Clean Call and up to 1,000 GWh from Phase 2 Bioenergy Call
for Power.

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Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 03:59 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: rodangus on October 29 2009 8:21 AM

The ultimate nightmare for BC: The MBA waving art students and poets have taken over energy in BC. Why not just build Site C? 5000 Gwh's of cost effective, clean, reliable and renewable electricity, good for a 100 years. As opposed to subsidizing windmill projects and burning wood...

Posted by: seamutt on October 29 2009 9:34 AM

Hey I got an idea there is one wind mill now on the north shore mtn.s, cover the whole works with wind mills. Then watch the free loading " MBA waving art students and poets ", I like that Rodangus, scream. Don't get rid of burrard though as it will be needed when the wind don't blow.

Posted by: Loki on October 29 2009 11:56 AM

Construction of Burrard was started by BC Electric in the
early 60s

Originally dual fuel � mainly natural gas with ability to burn
residual oil from adjacent Ioco refinery (oil burner systems
were removed in the 1990�s)

So, you are suggesting that we stick with hydro carbon fuels?

I thought we were trying to get away from those.

Posted by: caranmacil on October 29 2009 1:21 PM

I am with rodangus. Site C was the best plan all those years ago and it is the best plan now. We may have to wait to get our priorities straight until we are under strict CO2 constraints, but the project is going to happen. Why not now, when we could use the jobs, rather than when the economy is hot again, demand for power outstrips supply, and we are scrambling to catch up (using overpriced labour and materials)?

Posted by: Loki on October 29 2009 1:48 PM

The answer my friends are not more mega projects.
The answer is micro generation.
The hitch with micro generation is the the BCUC and BC Hydro will not allow private land owners to add to the grid. They will give some cock and bull story about not having the right technology to properly measure the consumption and generation.

Micro generation is small projects that can be managed by small private land owners like the couple in Ontario that spent $80k to green their home. It involves PV solar, thermal solar, wind, and geothermal installations.
Wind is not such a great option for normal city lots because last year the PG city council implemented a bylaw for wind tower whereby the tower must be 1.5 time its total height from any property boundary. So, if your wind tower is 10 meter (30 feet), then it must be 15 meters inside the property. Pretty tough when the average city property is 10 to 15 meters wide.

So as much lip service as our politicos give to the green movement, they sure do very little for progress and quit a bit to hinder our private efforts.

Posted by: govsux on October 29 2009 2:50 PM

Windmills aren't firm power, they're a good supplement but we need firm power, hydro power. Clean, flexible, firm, publicly owned hydro power.

Posted by: Palopu on October 29 2009 7:07 PM

Considering that Industry and Business, along with population in British Columbia is in the decline, what makes you think that we need more power????

There is only one reason and that is to produce more so that Hydro can sell more to the USA, and the Government can take in more money. Anyone who thinks differently is just not thinking.

Why does Hydro want you to be power smart??? Because all the power you save is sold to the Americans at a higher price than what you pay, and therefore more money in the bank.

Wake up and smell the roses. If Hydro had their way, we would all be burning candles, and they would sell all our power to the highest bidder.

Its a sad day indeed when we have to build a wood burning power plant to generate heat to heat the buildings at Baldy Hughes, when the buildings are all wired for electricity.

With all the dams in British Columbia, we should have the cheapest power in the world, and we should be selling only the excess. What we are now doing is building new power sources for export, and of course once we get into this in a big way, we will never get out.,

BC Hydro, PowerEx, BCTC, BC Government all working dilegently to ensure that you havent got a clue as to whats going on.

Posted by: caranmacil on October 29 2009 10:55 PM

I dont believe that industry, business or population of BC are going to decrease in the long term. Nor will energy needs. Hydro wants us to be power smart as it does not want to build more generating facilities. Until the hydro rates increase (due to demand) the big damn will take too long to pay off. On the other hand, those of you penny pinchers out there ought ot remember that that same argument was used before WAC Bennet damn, or the building of the highway east.
It has been a long time since the government has looked at developing the north in terms of northern developement, rather than in terms of what is in it for the lower mainland in the short term.
We do have very cheap power, by the way. We also have very clean power in the form of hydroelectric generation. As the interest in reducing ATM carbon increases, the value of zero carbon generation will increase. The price of electricity sold to the US and alberta will also improve as these tow places start feeling the pressure on coal fired plants. What exactly is wrong with selling power to the US? Can anyone suggest a better, more secure export? Whats next, banning sale of fossil fuels so we can have cheap gas?

Posted by: caranmacil on October 29 2009 10:57 PM

PS having lived next door to a wind generator i can tell you they are a little too noisy for in town (where the wind is insufficient anyway).

Posted by: commoner on October 29 2009 11:18 PM

The answer my friends are not more mega projects.
The answer is micro generation."

Loki has it pegged correctly. I think when you look at the issue from the propaganda of going green and carbon credits, the government is blowing hot air. (Too bad we can't harness that - haha)

When you view the issue from job creation though, which we need, a mega project and selling power makes ECONOMIC sense. BUT not by flooding an already fragile ecosystem. Wind, wave, and solar power generation is THE way to go. The technology is here and has been for a long while now. Solar and wind technology have come a long ways. The technology advancements allow for storage of power, something that wasn't available previously.

As for your own personal aspirations to get off the grid...battery technologies exist to do that too! Google and free exchange of information is our buddy!!
:)