LATEST NEWS 
March 22, 2010
Electricity generation
BC Hydro awards purchase agreements for 19 clean wind, run-of-river energy projects
VANCOUVER
BC Hydro has awarded the first batch of electricity-purchase agreements in its contentious, government-driven clean-power program. The 19 wind and run-of-river projects will generate 2,400 gigawatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power 218,000 homes.
B.C. Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom said the projects are a significant step toward meeting the government’s goal of becoming energy self-sufficient using clean, renewable energy by 2016.
The 19 projects by a handful of companies include 14 run-of-river operations, where water is diverted through turbines to generate electricity, and five wind-turbine projects.
Lekstrom said in a statement that all told, the projects involve $3 billion in capital investment and generate 3,000 person-years of employment during construction.
Hydro’s acting president, Bev Van Ruyven, said more clean-power projects will be announced in the coming weeks, with the Crown-owned utility’s target of acquiring up to 5,000 gigawatt hours annually of clean energy from B.C. sources.
Hydro says another 28 projects remain in its Clean Power Call and the utility expects to select more later this month.
In all, Hydro initially received 68 proposals from 43 bidders representing more than 17,000 gigawatt hours per year of electricity.
The winners in this phase include Finavera Renewables Inc., CP Renewable Energy Limited Partnership (formerly EPCOR), Cloudworks Energy Inc., Creek Power Inc., Plutonic Power Corp., Selkirk Power Co., Swift Power Corp., NI Hydro Holding Corp., C-Free Power Corp. and Kwagis Power Limited Partnership.
Environmentalists have warned run-of-river projects could threaten salmon-bearing waterways by diverting water through electrical turbines, especially some of the larger projects.
B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner said Thursday all the projects will go through provincial and in some cases federal environmental assessment processes.
JOC News Services
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