Professional Documents
Culture Documents
#114
by Don Pettit
for Peace Energy Renewable Energy Cooperative
www.peaceenergy.ca ph 250-782-3882
Our province is rich in high quality wind and solar energy resources. Integrating these into our existing hydro
power would eliminate the need for Site C and reduce cost to taxpayers. Left: Bear Mountain Wind Park powers
35,000 Peace Country homes. Right: the Hudsons Hope solar powered arena.
A
s a loyal Watts Happening projects and demand-side some of the best in the world,
reader you are no doubt management initiatives could featuring a power capacity factor
well aware that the Site C provide similar benefits (to Site (PCF) of 40%-plus. (PCF is a way
dam project on the Peace River is C)? of comparing different energy
under review by the BC Utilities sources. It is a measure of how
Commission. Public submissions WIND AND WATER much power a given facility
to the Commission were actually produces allowing for
welcomed until September 30th. A total of approximately 600 repairs, downtime and overall
(An initial report is to be published megawatts (MW) of wind power system efficiency. BC Hydro
on Sept. 20 followed by a further are presently operational in this states that the Site C dam PCF will
submission opportunity and a final region, with another 2000 MW be approximately 60%.)
report on Nov. 1/17). waiting to be developed by Distributing and expanding
Following is an edited Independent Power Producers wind facilities across the region
version of the Peace Energy (IPPs). Estimates suggest the will improve this remarkable PCF
Cooperative submission to the Peace Region has some 10,000 for wind energy until it approaches
BCUC. Specifically it addresses MW of readily developable wind the base-load reliability of hydro
their term of reference part D: energy. (some 15 years of wind monitoring
What portfolio of generating This wind resource is across the region confirm this
conclusion). Next to conservation and efficiency, solar
The Canadian Wind Energy Association self-generation is the least expensive, greenest and
(CanWEA) has submitted a study to BC Hydro most efficient source of power that anyone can make.
explaining how up to 3000 MW of wind power could Like wind, solar can also be integrated with existing
be successfully integrated into existing hydropower, hydro, storing unneeded energy behind the dams and
improving the efficiency and reliability of both, while releasing it when needed.
conserving our precious water/energy resource.
This proposal was ignored by the previous IN CONCLUSION
government, which at the same time reduced and
then eliminated their calls for clean power from IPPs. Integrating our rich wind and solar resources into
As a result, the rapidly expanding BC wind industry our existing hydro capacity will more than meet
ground to a virtual halt, and CanWEA summarily left future energy needs by enhancing our existing hydro
the province. electric infrastructure while
If and when the province
needs more energy, allowing the Since self- eliminating the need for future
dams like Site C.
produced power
wind industry to expand while Rather than one huge,
integrating it with the existing costly mega project, allowing
is power that BC
hydropower would supply us wind and solar to naturally
well into the future with excellent expand rather than holding