A corner of the web to talk and share ideas about clean energy in BC.
The application to the BC Utilities Commission seems straight forward enough.
Terasen Gas wants to collect biomethane produced by Fraser Valley cow manure, have someone else upgrade the gas, and then make the renewable gas available to customers, for a premium price of course. Continued…
Posted in Clean Technology, Climate Change, Mike Chisholm.
It seems our poor natural gas industry in British Columbia just can’t seem to get a break. Despite Terasen’s attempts to build a legitimate clean energy biogas program, its big utility cousin, BC Hydro, continues to aggressively move forward on its renewable energy portfolio, creating attractive and practical programs that is sure to lure potential biogas proponents away from gas, and toward electricity generation instead. Continued…
Posted in Clean Technology, Mike Chisholm.
The continuing consolidation of the geothermal industry in North America and Western Canada continues with the announcement of a possible takeover of Sierra Geothermal Power Corporation of Vancouver by Ram Power Corporation of Reno, Nevada. This latest move comes as no surprise as the geothermal industry regroups to capitalize on the increased demand for renewable energy in North America. This is an industry which requires deep pockets and technical expertise to capture the energy stored beneath the earth’s surface, usually in remote and inaccessible locations. And while British Columbia has vast reservoirs of geothermal energy, the real action is taking place south of the border in western United States, where US government incentives to develop clean energy resources makes it financially worthwhile to drill deep into the earth for the energy trapped below.
I wrote about this earlier this year, and what follows is my February post about the industry:
Posted in Clean Technology, Mike Chisholm.
Following up on the March 31 announcement of four projects awarded electricity purchase agreements (EPA’s) from the 2008 Clean Power Call, BC Hydro announced Thursday that an additional two projects have been awarded EPA’s.
Greengen Holdings Ltd., doing business as Pacific Greengen Power will produce 148 GWh/year of green electricity from a run-of-river hydroelectric project near Harrison Hot Springs. The area is a hotbed for clean energy projects. Cloudworks Energy Inc. was granted an EPA for the Big Silver-Shovel Creek and two other projects near Mission following the awarding of 19 EPA’s for clean energy projects in late March. Continued…
Posted in Independent Power Producers, Mike Chisholm.
By John Calvert
(Guest contribution from John Calvert, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Policy, Faculty of Health Science, Simon Fraser University. Dr. Calvert is the author of “Liquid Gold; Energy Privatization in British Columbia.”)
BC’s Bill 17 – egregiously named the Clean Energy Act – represents a dramatic escalation of the provincial government’s electricity privatization agenda. The Act will gouge ratepayers, needlessly damage the environment, violate the principle of government accountability and undermine public finances. It includes so many bad public policies that it is hard to know where to begin an evaluation of its impacts. Continued…
Posted in Guest Contributor.
As the dust settles on the BC government’s two recent energy announcements (Site C and Clean Energy Act), sharp pencils and pointy heads are now buried in the details of these developments, determining their impact on our environment, our economy and our province as a whole.
The scene for these announcements was partially set back in November, when Premier Gordon Campbell spoke to the annual meeting of the Independent Power Producers Association of BC. Continued…
Posted in Clean Energy Politics, Mike Chisholm.
It’s been a slow trickle, but the tide finally seems to be turning for many struggling clean tech companies in Canada. According to preliminary reports from various market research and advisory companies, venture investment results from the first quarter (1Q) of 2010 are not overly impressive, but they are showing increases compared to 2009. The same cannot be said for the United States. Continued…
Posted in Clean Technology, Mike Chisholm.
The following post is from Warren Brazier, the author of Megawatt: British Columbia’s Renewable Energy Blog.
On Monday, the Province of BC announced plans to build a 900 MW hydro-electric dam on the Peace River in northern BC, the project known as Site C. It will be a public project and its development is subject to permitting, and first nations and community consultation. Here is a link to the Vancouver Sun’s story.
For the remainder of this post, please see Megawatt: British Columbia’s Renewable Energy Blog.
Posted in Clean Energy Politics, Guest Contributor.
After years of speculation and debate, the Site C hydro project on the Peace River appears to be moving ahead, according to Global BC’s Brian Coxford. BC Minister of Energy and Petroleum Resources Blair Lekstrom has confirmed to reporters in Victoria that he will make an announcement at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on Monday, but is remaining tight lipped about what that actual announcement will be. Lekstrom has recently been quoted as saying he is close to a decision on the on-again, off-again mega-project. Continued…
Posted in Clean Energy Politics, Mike Chisholm.
In a business brief in the April 9 Vancouver Sun, an established company in the northern British Columbia energy firmament publicly emerged as the latest player in the fledging BC clean energy industry. Calling it “a significant first step in its business diversification strategy”, Pacific Northern Gas (TSX: PNG) announced it has acquired the 9.8 MW McNair Creek run-of-river hydro-electric facility on BC’s Sunshine Coast. Continued…
Posted in Clean Technology, Mike Chisholm.
PowerlineBC is Digg proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache
