BC Hydro siding with dinosaurs to meet BC?s energy needs

For immediate release?July 28, 2006

VICTORIA ? The Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter today reacted with alarm to the announcement that two coal-fired electricity projects, BC?s first, were awarded contracts as part of BC Hydro?s 2006 Call for Power.

?We have the opportunity to lead the world in greenhouse gas-free electricity, renewable energy and energy conservation,? said Lisa Matthaus, acting Executive Director. ?Instead, BC is choosing to take its first steps down a dirty path the rest of the world is struggling to get off. In a province facing escalating damage from mountain pine beetles and forest fires, and future impacts from rising sea levels, this decision can only be seen as irresponsible.?

Hydro also awarded three contracts for BC?s first wind power installations, a move the Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter applauds. But this in no way offsets their decision to dance with the dinosaurs on coal-fired electricity. The two contracts awarded to coal-fired power plants account for 30% of the total capacity awarded to independent power producers in this latest Call for Power, with projected lifetimes of 30 to 40 years. Together they will add 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere each year.

?Premier Campbell has said BC will have the best environmental management in the world - bar none. When it comes to energy we have a better opportunity to make that true than almost any other place on the planet,? said Colin Campbell of the Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter. ?This decision does not reflect that vision.?

Expensive and far-fetched experiments are underway to clean up the health and environmental impacts of coal ? everything from greenhouse gases to mercury ? in those parts of the world that currently have little choice but to rely on coal. Other regions have decided the cost of coal is simply too much: in 2003 Ontario announced it would be shutting down coal-fired plants due to the health costs associated with burning coal, following a campaign for closures that included the Ontario Medical Association.

?BC Hydro must assume coal is a source of ?cheap? energy, but this is extremely short-sighted,? concluded Matthaus. ?In addition to health and environmental impacts on local communities, BC is going to face the inevitable global trend to make greenhouse gas emissions expensive ? from carbon taxes to mandatory carbon budgets, the future is pricey for the dinosaur-dependent.?

The Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter is looking forward to the opportunity to work with communities, health professionals and others to oppose these coal plants and promote a sustainable and viable vision for BC?s energy needs through the upcoming months as these projects work their way through various approval processes