IN-SIGHTS: Dam lies

Mark Jaccard, recently appointed Chair and CEO of the BC Utilities Commission, argued in 20017 for Site C, when BC could have stopped the project and saved about $15 billion. Jaccard said that supporters of other renewables did not account for dispatchability, which he claimed was a key obstacle to

Continue reading

IN-SIGHTS: The downside of wind power

Unlike Site C in British Columbia, wind projects have relatively low budgets and short construction timelines. Those factors limit lucrative employment opportunities and impede privatization of public wealth. While good for consumers of electricity, low-cost generating facilities do not offer only short-term benefits to people building them.

Continue reading

IN-SIGHTS: Unclean clean energy

In addition to the known mercury contamination of fisheries caused by hydroelectric developments, reservoirs increase emissions of methane and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In some cases this increase, per unit of energy produced, may be significant compared to greenhouse gas emitted by fossil- fuelled electricity generation.

Continue reading

IN-SIGHTS: Planning fallacy

John Horgan’s crew had a truckload of hard hats ready to go when they formed government in 2017 and the last thing they intended to do was alter the controversial Site C project, secret deals BC Hydro had with private power producers, LNG promotion, and science-free facilitation of fracked gas

Continue reading