Plutonic Power & GE Submit $4B of Bids for Hydroelectric Projects

Plutonic and GE's bid submissions are in response to BC Hydro’s Request for Proposals issued in June for 5,000 gigawatt-hours per year of seasonal and hourly firm energy to help make British Columbia electricity self-sufficient by 2016, and meet demand using 90 percent clean domestic generation sources. BC Hydro says it intends to award energy purchase agreements to winning bidders from April-June 2009.

The submissions into BC Hydro’s 2008 Clean Power Call outline the development of approximately 1,200 megawatts (MW) of run-of-river hydroelectric capacity in the Toba and Bute Inlets along British Columbia’s southwest coast, where GE and Plutonic Power Corporation are already building a 196-MW hydroelectric project.

Bids were submitted for the following two projects:

The Upper Toba Valley Hydroelectric Project

The Upper Toba Valley Hydroelectric Project, with a generation capacity of approximately 166 MW, consists of three generation facilities that will connect to the BC Hydro grid through a 230- kilovolt line already under construction for the Plutonic Power and GE Energy Financial Services East Toba River and Montrose Creek run-of-river project. The Upper Toba Valley Hydroelectric Project is expected to be permitted by the end of the second quarter in 2009. The project will be able to take advantage of infrastructure already in place in the Toba Valley.

The Bute Inlet Project

The Bute Inlet Project, with generation capacity of approximately 1,027 MW, consists of 17 facility sites in three areas: the Homathko, Southgate and Orford Rivers. The Bute Projects have been registered with both provincial and federal permitting authorities. A formal application for an environmental assessment certificate is expected to be submitted in late 2009.