WHEREAS from the 1960s to the early 1980s the BC provincial government made significant investments in the creation of large-scale hydroelectric power projects, creating an abundance of clean, non-greenhouse gas producing energy, to the extent that surpluses were sold to other markets outside the province Decades of energy abundance has distorted public perception toward todays true costs of creating new energy, as well as promoting excessive consumption patterns while discouraging investment in new green energy production.; AND WHEREAS in March of this year, BC Hydro made public a new reality - that our province is no longer energy self-sufficient, with a 12 present shortfall projected to potentially grow to more than 45, based on current provincial consumption trends This shortfall has caused BC to move from being a net exporter of green hydro-electric power to importing our shortfalls through the purchase of brown-power from coal burning sources such as Alberta.; AND WHEREAS in its 2006 Energy Plan, BC Hydro has stated it is depending upon the purchase of locally-produced green, renewable energy from independently-produced sources of run-of-river small-scale hydropower, solar, wind and biomass projects over the next two decades while it plans and builds new large-scale power system sources; AND WHEREAS the importance of unimpeded development of new green, renewable power is reinforced by the recent introduction of Bill 30 as our province needs to move towards new, alternate and more expensive sources of energy: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities support the concept that British Columbia should once again become energy self-sufficient, to the extent that local governments be given the opportunity to participate in the creation of new green, renewable energy projects; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that the BC provincial government establish legislation that makes it mandatory for BC Hydro to purchase power created by BC local government-supported, green, renewable power projects.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Achieving electricity self-sufficiency in British Columbia will require a range of new power sources to be brought on line. To help make this happen, The BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership, released on February 27, 2007 contains a policy action directing BC Hydro to establish a standing offer for clean electricity projects with no quota to encourage small and clean electricity generation projects. The program will have a streamlined and clearly defined application process with simplified purchase agreements. BC Hydro is proposed to accept proposals ranging from 50 kilowatts to 10 megawatts of clean electricity or high efficiency electricity cogeneration. Prices paid for the electricity in the standing offer program will be set and will be based on a regional breakdown of the prices paid in the 2006 Call for Tenders. This will provide small electricity suppliers such as local governments with more certainty, bring small power projects into the system more quickly, and help achieve governments goal of maintaining a secure electricity supply. BC Hydro is currently consulting with interested parties to determine what the details of the program might look like. Local governments can also participate in BC Hydros Open Call for Power processes. To date, several local governments have partnered, or are creating financial arrangements with, IPPs to develop electricity generation projects which have been awarded Electricity Purchase Agreements by BC Hydro. Examples of projects which have had local government involvement include: - Eagle Lake Hydroelectric Project. This micro hydro facility began commercial operation in May 2003, and is located in West Vancouver. Owned by the District of West Vancouver, and designed, built and operated by Pacific Cascade Hydro Inc., this project has taken a unique approach to green electricity generation. The Districts domestic drinking water flows from Eagle Lake downhill through an underground pipe and into a large buried concrete storage reservoir, prior to entering the drinking water distribution system. In response to a suggestion made by a local resident, the District engineers determined that power could be generated using the energy of the water as it flowed from the lake to the reservoir. The Eagle Lake micro hydro project has a capacity of 0.2 megawatts MW and will generate approximately 1.2 gigawatt-hours GW.h of electricity per year. - China Creek Hydroelectric Project. This project is located approximately five kilometers south of the City of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. China Creek began operations in December 2005 and is owned by Upnit Power Limited Partnership. The corporations controlling partner is the Hupacasath First Nation with minority interest belonging to the City of Port Alberni, Ucluelet First Nation, and Synex Energy. - Vancouver Landfill Gas Project. Maxim Power Corporation and the City of Vancouver entered into a financial arrangement for Maxim Power to purchase landfill gas from the City of Vancouver Landfill in Delta. The Vancouver Landfill Gas Project began generating electricity in early September 2003. An additional unit was added in 2006, bringing its total supply to BC Hydro to about 55 GW.hyear. This innovative project received the Federation of Canadian Municipalities-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Award in 2005. - Hartland Landfill Green Power Project. This project, near Victoria, went into operation in February 2004. It was developed and is owned by Maxim Power Corp., which also owns the Vancouver Landfill Gas Project in Delta. The project feeds about 13 GW.h of electricity per year into BC Hydros grid, with a peak capacity of 1.6 MW. The Hartland Landfill project brought together diverse partners. The site is owned by the Capital Regional District, and British Columbia Buildings Corporation retains the green marketing attributes and rights for the first 8,760 megawatt-hours of electricity generated every year for the first 10 years. BC Hydro receives the green rights for all power above 8,760 MW.hours per year in the first 10 years and for all power after that. - Eldorado Reservoir. This small hydroelectric project that is currently being developed is located in, and owned by, the District of Lake Country, which is on the outskirts of Kelowna. When completed, the project will serve a dual purpose of providing pressure reduction in the water supply pipeline as well as generating electricity. The project qualifies for both BC Clean Electricity and Green Status.
BC HYDRO On these resolutions B124 and LR14 we offer the following comments: As demand for electricity in BC is growing, we have an increasing gap between the amount of energy we produce and the amount we use in our province. Buying electricity from local generating resources is one of the ways we intend to fill the growing gap. We are open to exploring innovative solutions to filling the gap, and therefore welcome discussions with municipalities about potential generation projects. BC Hydro is currently planning competitive acquisition processes such as the 2007 Call for Power. We would welcome municipal government submissions for projects under this call and other potential future purchase offers. We have had discussions with both municipalities sponsoring these resolutions at the 2006 UBCM Convention, and we understand that officials from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources have also met with Prince George to learn more about their proposal. Both resolutions may benefit from policy direction in the upcoming revised provincial Energy Plan which we expect will be released shortly. BC Hydro is supportive of small sustainable power projects as long as they do not negatively impact our existing operations; are aligned with our other future call for power processes; can be accommodate within our existing Water License Requirements; and are acceptable to our stakeholders e.g.; shareholder, regulator, other Independent Power Producers. We look forward to further work with municipalities and regional districts around the province as BC Hydro continues to work toward our goal of providing British Columbia with reliable power, at low cost, for generations.