BC Hydro Advances 36 Hydroelectric Projects in Clean Power Call

The province-owned utility said Nov. 17, 2009, that it will begin discussions with the developers of 13 proposed hydroelectric and wind power projects that it has identified as the most cost-effective. Additionally, it will offer developers of the other 34 projects the opportunity to make their proposals more cost-effective.

By technology, the remaining projects are 36 hydro, 10 wind, and one waste heat project.

Another 21 renewable energy projects were eliminated from consideration. The Clean Power Call originally received 68 proposals representing more than 17,000 gigawatt-hours of hydropower, wind, waste heat, biogas, and biomass. (HydroWorld 12/1/08)

"BC Hydro is committed to working with companies that provide clean, renewable power to find new sources of cost-effective energy to help meet new energy demand as we look towards serving future generations of customers in the province," BC Hydro President Bob Elton said.

BC Hydro said it will begin awarding contracts in December 2009. (HydroWorld 8/10/09)

The list of proposals moving to the next stage in the Clean Power Call may be obtained from BC Hydro’s Internet site at www.bchydro.com/planning_regulatory/acquiring_power/clean_power_call/Proposals.html.

While BC Hydro issued the list of surviving projects, it did not identify which of the remaining projects are the 13 considered cost-effective and which 34 projects must try to improve their cost-effectiveness. The utility also did not release details about specific projects, generating capacities, or technologies.

Advancing hydropower developers

Related announcements plus previous information from developers indicated the following hydropower developers and project areas remain under consideration:

o AltaGas Ltd., Sparwood area. However, three AltaGas proposals for the Stewart area were dropped. (Hydro Review October 2008)

o Atla Energy Corp., Mica area.

o Box Canyon Hydro Corp. and Sound Energy Inc., Port Mellon area. Sound Energy has said it plans a 10-MW project on Box Creek and Marty Creek.

o Castle Mountain Hydro Ltd., McBride area. It has said it is developing an 8-MW project on Benjamin Creek.

o C-Free Power Corp., Gold Bridge area.

o Cloudworks Energy Inc., which is developing the 151.8-MW Harrison Hydro complex, submitted proposals for three projects in the Mission area, two in the Campbell River area, and one in the Harrison Hot Springs area. (Hydro Review November 2008)

o Confederation Power Hydro L.P., two projects in the Kitsault area. The company is developing the 38-MW Upper Kitsault Valley Project cluster, featuring six developments: 7-MW Upper Kitsault River; 12-MW Homestake Creek; 4.8-MW Stark Creek; 2.5-MW Lyall Creek; 6.2-MW Evindsen Creek; and 5.5-MW Trout Creek.

o ENMAX Syntaris Bid Corp., an affiliate of Syntaris Power Corp., projects in the Squamish, Terrace, and Chilliwack areas. ENMAX Energy previously registered three projects for the call: 12-MW Caribou Creek; 3.5-MW Centre Creek; and 12- to 14-MW Phantom Lake. (Hydro Review October 2008) Syntaris Power, formerly known as Max Pacific Power, had said it would submit projects including 24-MW Culliton Creek, 72-MW Kinskuch Lake, 10-MW Chipmunk Creek, and 18-MW Maselpanik Creek. (Hydro Review September 2008)

o Fosthall Creek Power L.P., Nakusp area. The company is developing the Fosthall Creek project on the west side of Upper Arrow Lake.

o Greengen Holdings Ltd., doing business as Pacific Greengen Power, proposed a project at Douglas IR/Harrison Hot Springs. Pacific Greengen has been developing projects including the 10-MW Fries Creek project in B.C.

o Hydromax Energy Ltd., a division of ENMAX Corp., Sechelt area. However a proposal for the Gibsons area was dropped. (Hydro Review July 2008)

o Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., filing under subsidiaries Creek Power Inc. and Hurley River Hydro L.P., five hydropower projects totaling 196 MW at Pemberton: Hurley River (previously Creek), Upper Lillooet River (previously Creek), Gun Creek, Boulder Creek, and North Creek.

o Kleana Power Corp., which is pursuing a 700-MW run-of-river hydroelectric project on the Klinaklini River (HydroWorld 9/15/09), submitted a proposal for the Campbell River area.

o Kwagis Power L.P., which proposes a 55-MW run-of-river project near Port McNeill, submitted a proposal for that area.

o Long Lake Joint Venture, which has proposed a 16-MW Long Lake project near Stewart, submitted a proposal for that area.

o Plutonic Power Corp. and GE Energy Financial Services announced they were listed in the second group of surviving bidders for their nearly 1,200 MW from 20 hydro sites in the Upper Toba Valley and at Bute Inlet, near towns of Powell River and Campbell River. Upper Toba Valley project is a series of three sites with a capacity of 166 MW. (HydroWorld 4/9/09) Bute Inlet project includes 17 sites with a capacity of 1,027 MW. (HydroWorld 5/26/09)

o Run of River Power Inc. submitted a proposal for two of the three plants in its Mamquam project at Squamish totaling 35 MW. However, its proposal for the 155-MW, seven-plant Upper Pitt River project at Pitt Meadows was dropped.

o Ryan River Joint Venture, led by Regional Power Inc., Pemberton area, where it is developing a 145-MW Ryan River project.

o Sea Breeze Power Corp. said its Powerhouse Developments Inc. subsidiary submitted a proposal to supply power from its 25-MW Cascade Heritage Power run-of-river project proposed for the Kettle River. The powerhouse is to be built near Cristina Lake, at the site of an abandoned project at Cascade Falls.

o Selkirk Power Co. Ltd., Golden area, where it is developing three hydropower developments, Alder, Cupola, and Ventego.

o Stlixwim First Project Corp. and Stlixwim Partnership, three proposals for the Sechelt area. Stlixwim Hydro Corp. has proposed building and operating six interconnected run-of-river projects totaling 62 MW in five streams that discharge into either the Tzoonie River or Narrows Inlet northeast of Sechelt.

o Swift Power Corp. submitted a proposal to supply up to 20 MW from the Dasque Cluster hydropower project on Dasque and Middle creeks, near Terrace.

Projects rejected

As mentioned above, projects dropped from consideration included the three by AltaGas Ltd. at Stewart; the Hydromax Energy Ltd. proposal for the Gibsons area; and the Run of River Power Inc. proposal for the 155-MW Upper Pitt River project.

Other projects dropped from consideration were:

o Anderson River Hydro Ltd., a subsidiary of Canadian Hydro Developers Inc., Spuzzum area.

o Hawkeye Energy Corp. submitted Phase 1 of a multi-billion-dollar hydro complex, 12 hydro plants totaling 180 MW in the Toba Valley, Powell River, and Jervis Inlet regions. (Hydro Review March 2009)

o Purcell Green Power Inc., Meadow Creek area, part of its 125-MW Glacier Creek and Howser Creek project (Hydro Review November 2007).

o Robson Valley Power Corp., McBride area.

The Clean Power Call targets clean energy from large projects using proven technologies such as hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal energy, among others. It complements BC Hydro’s Standing Offer Program, which invites clean or renewable power projects up to 10 MW, including hydropower, to sell to BC Hydro at a fixed price with standard contract terms and conditions. (HydroWorld 6/9/08)