Coal-fired energy condemned
Scott Simpson
The Vancouver Sun
Tue 24 Oct 2006
British Columbia government should rethink its support for coal-fired electricity generation and instead require all future additions to B.C.'s energy supply to come from renewable sources, says a report to be released today by environmental groups.
B.C. should set targets for lowering greenhouse gas emissions mirroring those already endorsed by municipal governments across Canada, says the report which was co-authored by Pollution Probe and The Pembina Institute.
B.C. should also set targets for both energy efficiency and energy conservation through building design codes, and redesign the mandate of the B.C. Utilities Commission.
The regulatory agency's mandate includes consideration of the social, environmental and health impacts of energy consumption along with the cost of electricity and natural gas delivery, says the report.
Pollution Probe is based in Toronto while The Pembina Institute is based in Alberta but has an office in Vancouver.
An advance copy of the report, Maximizing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in British Columbia, was obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
The report goes into public release this morning to coincide with the annual convention of the Union of B.C Municipalities.
The City of Abbotsford will table at the UBCM convention a motion calling on the provincial government to take a more studied look at the environmental impacts of coal-fired electricity generation.
The report argues that B.C. still has "significant untapped renewable energy resources and energy efficiency potential" that renders unnecessary the development of coal-fired generation and its attendant adverse impacts on air quality.
Two coal-fired generation projects were recently listed by BC Hydro on a list of successful applicants in an open call for new private sector sources of power to contribute to the province's electricity grid.
Pembina and Pollution Probe said in a prepared statement that the plants "will provide approximately 2,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year and will increase B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity production by almost 120 per cent.
"In contrast, the report shows that BC Hydro has identified nearly 6,000 GWh/year in currently untapped potential energy efficiency that could be achieved by 2015 -- almost three times the energy provided by the coal plants with no increase in emissions."
The report is downloadable here