British Columbia is exploring the construction of new hydroelectric megadams on the Peace River and the Central Coast as part of a long-term strategy to increase electricity supplies by 50 per cent by 2050, Energy Minister Adrian Dix announced Monday.
Site E Dam and Bute Inlet Projects Under Evaluation
The government-owned utility, B.C. Hydro, is assessing the viability of a Site E dam on the Peace River, an estimated 750-megawatt facility located about 60 kilometres east of the recently completed 1,100-megawatt John Horgan Dam. Additionally, up to 900 megawatts of generation capacity near Bute Inlet on B.C.'s Central Coast are being considered.
For comparison, the Site C dam, now known as the John Horgan Dam, ultimately cost approximately $16 billion. The proposed Site E dam is one of five viable locations identified in 1958 by B.C. Hydro's predecessors for additional facilities downstream of the W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams. In 1978, Site C was deemed the best option, but Site E is now seen as a prime candidate for new baseload power.
Rising Demand and Policy Changes
“Our province is growing in an unprecedented way, equivalent and more to what we saw in the 1960s, which means the need for our clean electricity is soaring,” Dix said in the announcement. After roughly 18 years of near-flat electricity demand, he noted that “that’s changing and we’re responding.”
Dix indicated that the province will need to lift parts of the ban on major hydro projects introduced by former Premier Gordon Campbell's Clean Energy Act. He described such facilities as essential to “B.C. Hydro’s defining opportunity to build on our clean-energy advantage.”
Powering Growth Plan
The potential new dams were unveiled in a document titled Powering Growth, which outlines the next steps in B.C. Hydro's series of announcements, including a new call for power and the relaunch of its Power Smart program as Version 2.0. The province expects power needs to grow by 50 per cent by 2050, and Dix emphasized a three-pillar approach: conservation through Power Smart 2.0, optimization of existing systems (such as adding a sixth generating unit at the Revelstoke Dam and upgrading other stations), and building new facilities.
The third pillar may include additional dams, along with geothermal and biomass power, as well as utility-scale battery systems to back up renewable energy. No initial cost estimates were provided in the plan, which Dix released alongside B.C. Hydro CEO Charlotte Mitha and B.C. Building Trades Council executive director Bryn Bourke.
“At first, you have to assess the viability of the project in detail,” Dix said. “The projects will require deep, in-depth review, and that’s what we’re doing now.”
