Building a Vision for Green
Energy in British Columbia
Presented by
Harvie Campbell
Chair, IPPBC
At Simon Fraser University
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Agenda
•  Who we are & what we do
•  Opportunities for IPP development in B.C.
•  Benefits of IPPs in B.C.
–  Economic
–  Environmental
–  Social
•  Why we are on the right path
•  Future direction of IPPs in B.C.
Points to take away
1)  Clean energy development drives economic growth, job
creation and investment for First Nations and rural
communities, for the benefit of all British Columbians
2)  Clean energy combats climate change by significantly
reducing our carbon footprint
3)  All independent power projects undergo rigorous
environmental reviews under provincial and federal
environmental legislation
4)  B.C.’s publicly-owned electricity infrastructure,
augmented with private sector generation, delivers the
most cost-effective electricity to British Columbians
WHO WE ARE &
WHAT WE DO
IPPBC Association
•  Started in 1991
•  Non-profit and volunteer driven
•  330 members
–  All clean energy
–  Lead by IPP developers
–  Includes service providers
•  Engineers, builders, equipment vendors, fuel suppliers
•  Environmental firms, lawyers, financiers and consultants
•  Voice of IPPs
–  Policy and regulator advocate
B.C.’s IPP Industry
•  46 operating plants, spread all over B.C.
–  36 small hydro @ 10 MW (average)
–  4 biomass @24 MW (average)
–  4 biogas @ 3 MW (average)
–  2 gas @ 175 MW (average)
–  No coal, nuclear, or geothermal
•  Supply 9% of B.C.’s electricity energy
•  Oldest IPP began operating in 1992
First Nations-owned China
Creek hydroelectric project
Wind project in the Peace
Island Co-gen Plant in
Campbell River
Williams Lake woodwaste
fired power project
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IPP
DEVELOPMENT IN B.C.
Need to fill the Supply Gap
•  B.C.’s energy needs today and tomorrow
–  Approximately 50,000 GW hours/year produced from B.C.
resources (critical water year)
–  Present day demand is around 59,000 GW hours/year
–  The gap is 9,000 GW hours (15% of demand)
–  Could rise to 20% within 5 years
BCH Supply Gap
Domestic Requirements GWh
70000
65000
60000
}
55000
50000
2007 Imports
6,141 GWh
45000
Actual
BCH Forecast
Historical Growth
Supply
B.C. has a competitive
advantage in clean energy
•  Abundance of natural resources
•  B.C. only jurisdiction to offer wind, biomass and runof-river Hydro in one place
•  Homegrown innovation and technology
•  A balance of publicly-owned generation and
transmission assets augmented with privately-owned
generation
B.C. has a competitive
advantage in clean energy (cont...)
•  Construction, operation and financial risk is
absorbed by IPPs, not taxpayers
•  Public wants clean forms of energy
•  On the doorstep of the U.S. – where RPSs are
driving demand for renewables
WE ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH
Benefits of IPPs in B.C.
•  Economic: Helps create
a “green economy”
•  Environmental: Tackles
climate change and
reduces GHGs
•  Social: Fosters First
Nations and community
participation and benefits
Economic Benefits of IPPs
•  By 2020, investment in B.C.’s IPP sector could reach $29 billion
•  IPP construction could support 90,000 person years of
employment for British Columbians by 2020, and more than
8,100 full time jobs to support their operations
•  By 2020, the construction of IPPs could contribute up to $1.7
billion to all three levels of government in B.C., while annual
direct payments to government could reach half a billion
IPPs position B.C. to be a leader
in fight against global warming
•  Reduce GHG emissions
–  To date, B.C.’s operating IPPs have enabled an annual reduction
of 4 million tonnes of GHGs that would otherwise have resulted
from B.C. Importing power from thermal plants in Alberta and the
U.S.
•  Reduce our environmental footprint
•  Projects must undergo stringent environmental
assessment and oversight
See how far we have come in
tackling climate change
False
Creek
in
1930’s
False
Creek
in
2000
Let’s
keep
going!
Social Benefits of IPPs
First Nations participation
•  First Nations involvement high and a “must have”
•  Partnerships are taking place with First Nations in every region
of B.C.
•  Helps support a New Relationship with First Nations
Community participation
•  New revenue stream
•  Supports local businesses
•  Jobs within communities mean people do not have to be away
from their families to earn a living
•  Provides options and hope to families in single industry towns
FUTURE DIRECTION OF IPPS
IN B.C.
Clean power is no longer a niceto-do, it’s a must do
•  Clean energy development can play a critical role in BC’s economic
future and quality of life while reducing our carbon footprint.
•  The supply gap in B.C. remains an issue - this despite the tremendous
potential of the province
•  Provincial policy is sound - the focus must be on streamlining the
decision making process and implementation
•  It is not “Vancouver” warming, “Victoria” warming or “Prince George”
warming – it is “GLOBAL” warming
•  Continued importance of collaboration
–  i.e. Green Energy Task Force, B.C. Bioenergy Network
•  B.C. must secure its position as a North American leader in clean
energy