British Columbia's $8.5 Billion Site C Dam and Hydroelectric Project Takes Important Step Forward

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--One of the largest hydroelectric projects in North America is in the final stages of a comprehensive environmental assessment process that is being conducted by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (Ottawa, Ontario) and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (Victoria, British Columbia). The public, aboriginal and interest groups will offer input to help determine whether the project can proceed to construction.

The Site C Dam and Hydroelectric Project is a proposed third dam and generation station on the Peace River, located in northeast British Columbia, that is being developed by BC Hydro (Vancouver, British Columbia). Plans involve building an earthen dam and a 1,100-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric generating station to provide additional renewable energy to the province. When completed, the estimated $8.5 billion project will provide enough electricity to power about 450,000 homes.

The proposed dam takes advantage of the existing Williston Reservoir, the largest freshwater body in British Columbia, and will consist of a 1,050-metre-long earthfill dam; a generating station with six 183-MW Francis turbine generators; an 83-kilometre-long reservoir; a berm on the Hudson's Hope shoreline; and two 500-kilovolt (kV) alternating current transmission lines to move the power from the generating station to load centers in the province.

According to BC Hydro forecasts, the province's electrical needs will grow about 50% during the next 20 years, driven by projected population growth and economic expansion. In addition to added hydropower generation, BC Hydro is encouraging conservation, upgrading its existing generating facilities, building new transmission and distribution infrastructure, and investing in new supplies of clean energy, such as wind, biomass and run-of-the-river hydroelectric to meet this project growth.

Initial studies began in 1974 for Site C, which began with a reservoir shoreline stability assessment describing the effect that reservoir flooding would have on future shoreline stability. It is but one example of how long a massive hydroelectric project can take just to advance to through the feasibility and permitting stages.

Construction on the project, if approved, will start in late 2014 and be completed in 2022, according to BC Hydro's schedule. The project is expected to create 35,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout all stages of development and construction, as well as 7,000 person-years of direct construction employment through the construction time frame.

Industrial Info is currently tracking capital hydroelectric projects in British Columbia valued at almost $17 billion in total investment value, including new generating plants, turbine and generator upgrades, new unit additions, plant modernizations and refurbishments that are scheduled to start construction between January 2013 and December of 2017, with $11.89 billion dollars of these capital projects being new grassroot power plants.

According to BC Hydro's Draft Integrated Resource Plan, the province will need an additional 4,900 gigawatt-hours of firm energy, as well as 1,100 MW of peak capacity, to meet future electrical needs. The load growth will be driven by new mining and natural gas development in northern British Columbia, creating new load centers and new additional energy and capacity needs.

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