BC Provincial Government

The BCSEA welcomes the provincial government’s proposed Feed-In Tariff (FIT) for renewable electricity, and accepts the need for it to be a limited version of FITs adopted elsewhere in the world, since BC is close to producing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.

If a fully-fledged FIT created the same level of uptake for renewables in BC that it is creating elsewhere, it may generate more power than BC needs, causing the surplus to be sold for export at a lower price than was paid for it, even to a possible high tariff green California power market. In an earlier published article, we called this “The BC Paradox”.

However, we also believe that BC should reduce its consumption of fossil fuels, and this would tend to increase electricity demand. We therefore recommend an approach to the FIT that is expanded beyond the current proposed regulation, so as to stimulate BC’s renewable energy industry at what we believe to be a critical time in its development. We have 10 recommendations regarding the proposed FIT.

Continued leadership on climate change and clean energy is essential for the future prosperity and safety of our province and the world. This requires continued action to phase out our use of fossil fuels, replacing them with clean energy and much greater energy efficiency.

BC’s 7% Provincial Sales Tax has for many years included an exemption for fossil fuels used for transport and heating fuel. This exemption will continue when the transition to HST occurs, while exemptions for fossil-fuel reducing items such as bicycles and energy efficiency equipment will cease. As such, it is a major contradiction to the stated goals of all BC’s main political parties.

By removing the exemption, BC could receive an additional $500 million a year in income, which could be used to create two new funds: a $300 million-a-year Health Transportation Fund, and a $200 million-a-year Health Buildings Fund. These funds could be used to support programs which would enable people to reduce their travel and heating costs by far more than 7%, reducing energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and creating many new jobs.

The BCSEA knows of ten specific barriers that are slowing, impeding and deterring the development of small-scale renewable energy in BC. Most of these result from attitudes, regulations and criteria from the past era of abundant cheap hydropower being applied to the new renewable energy technologies, creating a “bad fit”.

1. The disproportionately high cost of Electrical Code permitting for renewables
2. Lack of renewable energy training for BC Safety Authority Inspectors
3. The limitations of Canadian Certification Standards
4. Excessive service size requirements for renewable energy sites
5. The lack of renewable energy training for electrical engineers and electricians
6. The loss of PST exemptions
7. Excessive BC Hydro manual disconnect requirements
8. Excessive municipal tax assessments on renewable energy
9. Lack of integrated design requirements for Remote Communities Electrification
10. Expensive red tape in renewable energy planning & approvals

Our recommendation is that the government establish a Small-Scale Renewable Energy Barriers Working Team to examine the barriers, evaluate possible solutions, and give consistent leadership until they have been resolved.

Green energy is a very hot topic in BC right now, especially for run-of-river power, and opinions range right across the spectrum, from the gung-ho: “This makes complete sense, and is an essential tool to help us tackle climate change”; to the outraged: “This is a complete scam, designed only to make private corporations rich and bankrupt BC Hydro.”

In December 2009, the BCSEA sent a 25-page submission to the government’s Green Energy Advisory Task Force containing 61 recommendations, plus a review of green power pricing programs around the world. You can read our full submission below.

The BCSEA and its collaborators applauded the recommendation of the Climate Action Team report and called on the government to implement the recommendations; and we proposed further measures to supplement those in the report.

Through 2008, the Climate Action Team worked to assess policicies to help BC meet its initial GHG reduction target of 33% below 2007 levels by 2030. In August 2008, they released their report.

The BCSEA supports renewable energies such as wind, geothermal, solar, tidal and run-of-river hydro, provided that individual projects are properly sited and assessed, and they do not cause undue environmental or social harm. Key issues are: fish and aquatic life; wildlife; habitat; net life-cycle reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; recreational use; other social values, including scenic; and cumulative impacts.

Tom Hackney, BCSEA Vice President of Policy, submitted these comments to the Provincial Government regarding the development of renewable and low-carbon fuel standards in BC.

Tom Hackney, BCSEA Vice President of Policy, submitted these comments to the Provincial Government regarding the development of ‘BC Clean’ Energy Standards.