wiredInUSA November 2017

Peace project facing costly delays M A K I N G T H E NEWS

BC Hydro has revealed that delays in the 1.1GW site C hydro project on the Peace river in British Columbia will increase the budget by an additional $484.3 million or 7.3 percent, taking the overall project cost to $7.1 billion. The project will not meet the current timeline for river diversion in 2019, but expects to deliver it on time by November 2024 with the elevated costs. BC Hydro’s announcement regarding the dam and hydroelectric power generation project were made through a letter written by its president and chief operating officer, Chris O’Riley, to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). O’Riley wrote: “Despite the challenges we have encountered and the risks that remain, our analysis continues to confirm that completing site C as

planned is still the most cost effective option for our customers. Suspending, or terminating and finding the power we need from other sources, which carries its own set of uncertainties, would cost billions more than completing site C.” Last month BCUC issued its preliminary report on the site C inquiry to the Canadian government, revealing various issues and highlighting a number of areas where more details were necessary before reaching any conclusions. The cost to scrap the hydro project and remediate the site was estimated at $870 million, which the commission considers unfeasible. The project was designed to generate 5,100GWh of clean energy annually, for over 100 years.

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wiredInUSA - November 2017