Less costly Site C alternatives were ignored
Many self-interested people told us that non-destructive alternatives to hydropower would not work in British Columbia. These, they said, were unreliable and could not always send power to the grid…
Many self-interested people told us that non-destructive alternatives to hydropower would not work in British Columbia. These, they said, were unreliable and could not always send power to the grid…
Energy-systems consultant Roger Bryenton wrote an open letter to Premier David Eby, BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Riley, and BCUC Chair Mark Jaccard. It is published here with permission.
BC Hydro has often said that demand for electricity in this region is growing at a rate of 40 percent in 20 years. The company claims population increases result in…
In 2018, BC Hydro began discouraging the production of solar power in British Columbia. Customers with solar panels had been allowed a two-way connection to the grid. When they fed…
Worldwide solar energy capacity has been growing rapidly. In 2022, it was 150 times higher than in 2006 and more than double the level of 2018 when BC Hydro moved…
So, who has been responsible for strategic misrepresentation that has damaged BC Hydro? Responsible Ministers and MLAs are driven by love of megaprojects, but they may also have experienced the…
BC Hydro’s own numbers provide evidence that increased demand by domestic consumers over 20 years was less than one-third of that predicted and was double covered by the utility’s purchases…
Seattle based writer David Roberts reports on energy matters. Recently Roberts explored the variability of renewable energy. Opponents of wind and solar power rely on this subject to raise objections.…
Today, charts about BC Hydro showing information that ought to alarm citizens of British Columbia. It will not of course, because corporate media does not bother to report meaningful data…
In 2017, construction of Site C could have been halted without wasting more than $10 billion. But influential promoters of the megaproject — including Marc Jaccard, the newly appointed head…
Economist Erik Andersen emails an informal newsletter offering opinions, sometimes about how organizations and individuals use political influence to extract wealth from the public. He gave an example that was…
BC Hydro recently released its first quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The report covered three months in 2023: April, May and June. It is worth looking…
When BC Hydro said that growing demand required asset additions worth billions of dollars and contractual commitments of $50+ billion owed to independent power producers, should we have believed what…
Lew Edwardson wrote the following as a comment on the post Lack of transparency at BC Hydro may conceal massive fraud. It deserves to be repeated in this separate post.…
BC’s government seems determined to continue the present model for private power in the intended 2024 call for additional electricity. The difference in 2024 will be that large contracts for…
Site C was conceived when output per MW of capacity was higher than it has been in recent years. BC Hydro has regularly claimed that 1,100 MW capacity at Site…
Economist Dr. Jetson Leder-Luis of Boston University studies fraud in public spending. He estimates that fraud in large projects may divert five percent of spending. On the Site C power…
BC Hydro is preparing a call for power and expects to award new contracts to independent power producers in 2025. The 500 MW Revelstoke 6 is deferred again, even though…
A Bloomberg headline too consequential to ignore: European Power Prices Plunge Below Zero as Solar Output Booms. Had British Columbia committed to wind and solar power eight years ago, it…
For years, informed commentators without a partisan interest or a financial stake in construction of Site C argued for alternative energy projects. BC New Democrats and BC Hydro were disinterested…