"Here's a test to
find whether your mission in life is finished.
If you're alive, it isn't!" - Richard Bach, author
DUKE POINT CANCELLED!
BC Hydro has cancelled the proposed Duke Point Power
Plant. There were cheers all over British Columbia when
BC Hydro’s board announced, on Friday morning June 17th,
2005, that they were withdrawing from their contract with
Pristine Power to build the plant. One friend said she was
driving back to Bowen Island when she heard the news, and
she nearly drove off the road with the shock! A Victoria
Times Colonist reporter wrote that "his jaw was still
on the ground", after writing a column on the news.
Here’s the BC Hydro announcement: www.bchydro.com/news/2005/jun/release24839.html
The announcement came 4 months to the day after the Kyoto
Accord came into full legal play on February 17th,
2005. Since the Duke Point power plant would have released
an additional 800,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year,
that’s what Martha Stewart would call "a good thing".
(What would it take to turn Martha "green", I
wonder? Just think of the leverage she could achieve. Anyone
got a line to her?)
BC Hydro’s reason for canceling was that when we (BCSEA
+ GSXCCC + SPEC) were granted leave to appeal the BCUC decision
to approve the plant, after an earlier refusal by a lower
court, BC Hydro (a) had a clause that allowed them to cancel
the contract with no further cost to the taxpayer, and (b)
felt that with the time involved over the appeal, there
would not have been time to get the plant built on schedule
for the Winter 2007 date which they had said was so critical.
In reality, we suspect they were also harbouring growing
concerns (c) about the rising price of natural gas, 100%
of which would have been shouldered by us, the BC Hydro
ratepayers, and (d) about the whole wretched schamoodle,
which has caused nothing but public outcry and grief since
the beginning of this long saga under Glen Clark’s NDP,
ten years ago.
The campaign to stop Duke Point started eight years ago
with the campaign to stop the Georgia Strait Crossing natural
gas pipeline; that project was killed last year, and now
this has been killed too. Our hats go off to everyone in
the Georgia Strait Crossing Concerned Citizens Coalition,
who did most of the early work, and set the stage for so
many more people to get involved in working for an alternative
solution, rather than Duke Point. See www.sqwalk.com
So the Duke is dead. The challenge now for the BCSEA and
all of us is to step forward with sustainable solutions
that show how we can meet Vancouver Island’s power supply
needs with a sustainable energy system both now and for
the indefinite future. We’ve not laid any plans for this
yet, so all ideas are welcome.
Duke Point: Now More Appealing Than
Ever
The Saga continues....
In January, BC Utilities Commission held a hearing on BC
Hydro's electricity purchase agreement with Duke Point Power
to buy electricity from a 252 MW gas-fired power plant to
be built on Vancouver Island. BCUC allowed the agreement,
but certain aspects of the way the review was conducted lead
us to join an appeal against the decision. We lost the appeal,
but are set to appeal the ruling of the appeal court judge. And
so it goes....
The
Duke Point Positive Energy Quilt Project
A slide presentation about the Positive Energy Quilt Project. Six fabulous quilts
that were made by people in Nanaimo and Gabriola to show their opposition to
the gas-fired power plant at Duke Point, and to show support for sustainable
energy solutions."
Six Reasons Why Sustainable Energy
is a Better Alternative to Duke Point Power
BC Hydro has applied to the BC Utilities Commission for
approval of its agreement to purchase electricity from the
252 MW gas-fired power plant that Pristine Power Inc plans
to build at Duke Point, near Nanaimo. The BC SEA believes
a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative would be
to replace the existing, aging sub-sea electrical transmission
cables with a new cable system linking the Island to the
mainland. Any potential supply gap between zero-rating the
old cable and operating the new one can be covered by the
load reduction that Norske Canada has offered to carry out
at its mills at Campbell River and Crofton. Thus, it makes
much more sense to:
..Click for our Six Reasons!
GREEN POWER or BROWN POWER?
BC Hydro is persisting with its plans to produce power from
a 252 MW gas-fired power plant on Vancouver Island, in spite
of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment’s warning of
dramatic temperature rises and melting ice, the coming crisis
in the supply of natural gas, and the fact that there are
more sustainable ways to meet the Island’s power needs.
After being rebuffed by local communities in Port Alberni,
Duncan and North Cowichan, and by the BC Utilities Commission
itself for its plans to build the plant at Duke Point, Nanaimo,
BC Hydro has turned around and chosen Duke Point Power, a
private company, to build it. If all goes according to plan,
construction will start in March 2005. BC Hydro calls it
clean power, but it’s clean brown power, not green
power.
BC Hydro says that the Island will run short of peak power
during the winter of 2007/2008, once the subsea cable has
been taken out of commission. The purpose of the plant is
to put an additional 252 MW into the grid, solving the peak
power problem, and making the Island more independent from
the mainland. So what are the sustainable solutions to this
dilemma?
..click here for the rest of the
story.
Duke Point: The Appeal
So what’s the news in the Duke Point Saga?
In January, the BC Utilities Commission held its hearing
to review BC Hydro’s electricity purchase agreement
with Duke Point Power Limited Partnership, which wants to
build a 252 MW gas-fired power plant at Duke Point.
The BC SEA joined with the GSX Concerned Citizens Coalition
and SPEC to oppose the agreement, bringing evidence to dispute
BC Hydro’s claim that Vancouver Island urgently needs
the power, and also on the post-Kyoto risk of unexpected
financial liabilities for greenhouse gas emissions.
This convoluted way to express concern about the climate
change implications of the power plant is made necessary
by the rules that govern the Utilities Commission, which
only allow the Commission to consider factors likely to cause
direct dollar costs to ratepayers. An environmental “assessment” conducted
by the BC Environmental Assessment Office in 2003 gave no
meaningful weight to the plant’s GHG emissions, and
requires no mitigation.
The BCUC approved the power plant in February, accepting
BC Hydro’s claims and largely dismissing those of other
intervenors. We (that’s GSXCCC, BC SEA, et al) are
now appealing their decision to the BC Court of Appeal, alleging
a reasonable apprehension that the Commission was biased
in its review, i.e. they had made up their mind before hearing
the evidence and arguments of all the interested parties.
On 8 April, the court will hold a hearing when they will
decide whether they will allow the appeal. If it’s
allowed, it will likely be heard early in May. BC Hydro has
indicated that a successful appeal would result in the project
being cancelled, and other measures would be implemented
to meet the Island’s electricity needs.
Tom Hackney
14 March 2005
Wind Energy - Coming to BC soon?
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Six Reasons Why Sustainable Energy
is a Better Alternative to Duke Point Power
BC Hydro has applied to the BC Utilities Commission for
approval of its agreement to purchase electricity from the
252 MW gas-fired power plant that Pristine Power Inc plans
to build at Duke Point, near Nanaimo. The BC SEA believes
a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative would be
to replace the existing, aging sub-sea electrical transmission
cables with a new cable system linking the Island to the
mainland. Any potential supply gap between zero-rating the
old cable and operating the new one can be covered by the
load reduction that Norske Canada has offered to carry out
at its mills at Campbell River and Crofton. Thus, it makes
much more sense to:
1. Renew the Sub-Sea Cables
The immediate electricity problem on Vancouver Island is the imminent zero-rating
of some existing electrical cables supplying the Island from the mainland.
The best solution is to build new sub-sea electrical cables right away,
to maintain the connection. Duke Point Power Project is an expensive and
unnecessary long-term solution to a short-term problem.
2. Bridge the Gap by Reducing Norske’s Load
The power supply “gap” between zero-rating the old cables and
implementing the new ones may be as short as just one season. This gap can
be effectively covered by a proposal by Norske Canada to reduce its on-Island
electricity use during cold snaps. This is more efficient than a $280 million
power plant with a potential $2.5+ billion in fuel costs over twenty-five
years.
3. Develop Green Energy to Meet the Island’s
Needs
Made-in-BC sustainable energy sources can meet BC’s electricity requirements
without contributing to global climate change. Once the aging sub-sea cables
to Vancouver Island are renewed, there will be no on-Island capacity problem
for a decade or more. This will open the door to BC’s sustainable energy
sources, some of which are already economic (e.g. microhydro, wind, solar
thermal, groundsource heat, biomass) and some of which will become economic
over time (e.g. wave, tidal current, solar PV). It will also create time
for ramping up more energy conservation initiatives. BC Hydro’s 2002/03
Green Energy call resulted in 16 projects approved by Hydro, totalling 500
MW. Sustainable energy and conservation avoid the release of the greenhouse
gases that drive climate change and cause other environmental harm. They
also avoid the potential financial liability that fossil fuel energy sources
will face for their contribution to climate change, and they prevent us from
increasing our reliance on fossil fuels at a time when conventional sources
of fossil fuel are drying up, and ever more remote sources and harmful production
methods are being considered.
4. Invest all that Money in Sustainable Energy, not
Fossil Fuels
Avoiding a multimillion-dollar investment in fossil fuel technology will
open the door to sustainable energy. The Duke Point Power Project will cost
$280 million to build, and at a minimum it will burn some $80 to $120 million
worth of natural gas per year (much higher if BC Hydro has underestimated
the future price of gas). Over a twenty-five year lifetime, the Duke Point
plant could cost as much as $2.5+ billion in natural gas fuel costs, all
of which will be born by the ratepayer. That amount of investment in conservation
and sustainable energy would ensure that our electricity demand in BC could
be met sustainably for ever.
5. Avoid Price Inflation with the Future Price of Natural
Gas
The future price of natural gas is unknown. This means that the future price
of gas-fired electricity is unknown. BC Hydro has forecast that the price
will return to $3 per million cubic feet (mcf) and remain low over the life
of Duke Point plant. But North American gas supplies are in crisis as conventional
resources are being exhausted. New supplies will have to come from ever more
remote areas – including imports of liquid natural gas (LNG) from around
the world – and will increasingly require new technologies. These factors
create uncertainty, combined with the risk of high and fluctuating prices.
The current price of gas is $6 per mcf, twice BC Hydro’s forecast price,
and some forecasters think it could go higher and stay high. Gas costs make
up half or more of the cost of gas-fired generation. Whatever the cost of
gas, it will be passed on to the consumer in increased electricity rates.
Sustainable energy sources, by contrast, have stable prices because they
depend on energy resources such as the wind and tides that remain constant
over long periods of time.
6. Develop Vancouver Island’s Wind Energy Resources
Vancouver Island is poised to become a significant wind power supplier. BC
Hydro has already signed a contract for 59 MW of on-Island wind power.
Other proposals totalling many hundred MW are either being proposed, or
are undergoing environmental review in the north part of the Island. Once
the Island’s electricity capacity has been “firmed up” with
a renewed sub-sea electrical cable from the mainland, there is a large
potential for on-Island wind resources to be developed that would contribute
to the Island’s and BC’s overall electricity needs.
Written by Tom Hackney and Guy Dauncey
BC SEA, January 2005
GREEN POWER or BROWN POWER?
BC Hydro is persisting with its plans to produce power from
a 252 MW gas-fired power plant on Vancouver Island, in spite
of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment’s warning of
dramatic temperature rises and melting ice, the coming crisis
in the supply of natural gas, and the fact that there are
more sustainable ways to meet the Island’s power needs.
After being rebuffed by local communities in Port Alberni,
Duncan and North Cowichan, and by the BC Utilities Commission
itself for its plans to build the plant at Duke Point, Nanaimo,
BC Hydro has turned around and chosen Duke Point Power, a
private company, to build it. If all goes according to plan,
construction will start in March 2005. BC Hydro calls it
clean power, but it’s clean brown power, not green
power.
The BCUC will hold a review in Vancouver, commencing January
11th 2005, and a Town Hall Meeting in Nanaimo on January
15th when anyone can make a 10 minute statement. (You must
register by 11 January with BCUC Counsel, Gordon Fulton (604)
687-6789 gfulton@boughton.ca).
The BC SEA has registered as an Intervenor, and we will work
in a formal partnership to oppose construction of the plant
with the GSX Concerned Citizens Coalition, which has retained
Bill Andrews as its legal counsel. The BCUC will make its
final decision on February 17th.
BC Hydro says that the Island will run short of peak power
during the winter of 2007/2008, once the subsea cable has
been taken out of commission. The purpose of the plant is
to put an additional 252 MW into the grid, solving the peak
power problem, and making the Island more independent from
the mainland. So what are the sustainable solutions to this
dilemma?
(1) Speed up the replacement of the subsea cable, currently
scheduled for 2010, so that the Island can receive power
from the mainland, and be able to ship green power back
to the mainland as it develops a green power surplus.
(2) Make a more determined approach to energy efficiency
and conservation, including providing incentives for industrial
customers such as Norske not to use power at the peak,
and for customers to invest in improved efficiency, solar
hot water, and groundsource and oceansource heat. By reducing
the power used at the peak, the shortage can be postponed
long enough to replace the cable.
(3) Make a firm commitment to accept power from green
power producers on the Island such as Sea Breeze, which
has a 450 MW windfarm at Knob Hill, on the northern tip
of the Island, which is already approved and looking for
a customer.
There will soon be a longer article entitled “Twenty
Reasons Why Vancouver Island Needs Green Power, not Brown
Power” on the BC SEA website. Watch this space!
What can you do to encourage the right decision? If you
live near Nanaimo, please plan to attend the Town Hall meeting,
and speak up for your birthright: green energy, and a planet
not devastated by the impacts of global climate change.
For everyone else, please write letters to the media, to
radio stations, to your MLAs, and to the BCUC Secretary,
6th flr, 900 Howe St, Box 250, Vancouver V6Z 2N3 (commission.secretary@bcuc.com),
with copies to the following:
This is a critical moment for our power choices in BC. We
have two paths ahead of us: we must persuade the BCUC, BC
Hydro and the government to choose the green path.
Guy Dauncey
December 14, 2004
Last Updated: March 14, 2006
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