Megawatt: British Columbia Renewable Energy Law Blog : BC Renewable Energy Blog : Clark Wilson Law Firm : Green Power, Natural Energy

From my new colleague, Jenny Kirkpatrick: 

On May 31, 2010, BC Hydro issued a Request for Proposals in relation to the long term supply of clean or renewable biomass energy generated by new projects in British Columbia (the “Bioenergy Phase 2 Call”).  Those intending to submit a Proposal must first register with BC Hydro and the registration deadline is fast approaching - July 15, 2010 at 4pm.

With the recent announcement of the Clean Energy Act coming into force, it is worth noting that there is a direct effect on the Bioenergy Phase 2 Call insofar as the Utilities Commission Act  ("UCA") is concerned. It is anticipated that BC Hydro will post an Addendum and/or Notice(s) to the RFP website to address modifications to the RFP process required to accommodate all impacts of the Clean Energy Act, including exemptions from certain procedural requirements to which energy supply contracts in British Columbia are normally subject.

Specifically, section 7(1)(e) of the Clean Energy Act exempts, “a bio-energy phase 2 call to acquire up to 1,000 gigawatt hours per year of electricity” from sections 45 to 47 and 71 of the UCA. Those provisions essentially relate to the British Columbia Utilities Commission’s (“BCUC”) approval process for public utility plants or systems, or Section 71 Hearings (as they are known).  Pursuant to section 71 of the UCA, all energy supply contracts are subject to the scrutiny of the BCUC, which determines whether the subject energy supply contract is in the public interest. By being exempt from BCUC’s regulatory process, those intending to submit a proposal in response to the Bioenergy Phase 2 Call will not be burdened with having to file an energy supply contract, in this case the electricity purchase agreement, with the BCUC, nor required to participate in a public hearing convened by the BCUC. In addition, the Bioenergy Phase 2 Call is exempt from the requirement to obtain a “certificate of public convenience and necessity” prior to the construction, operation or extension of a public utility plant or system, as provided for in s. 45 of the UCA. Lastly, the procedural requirements set out in s. 46 and the provisions relating to cease work orders set out in s. 47 of the UCA, do not apply to the Bioenergy Phase 2 Call. As a result, proponents will not have to incur the (often significant) costs associated with meeting these procedural requirements.  Regulatory barriers aside, all of the proponents will have to comply with the RFP's procedural requirements.

Exempting the Bioenergy Phase 2 Call from sections 45 to 47 and 71 of the UCA will likely result in the development of clean energy projects in a more expeditious manner, which in turn will help the B.C. Government meet its objectives as set out in the Clean Energy Act. 

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On June 3, 2010, the Clean Energy Act (the “CEA”) received Royal Assent in the BC Legislature. The Province of British Columbia now has a dedicated piece of renewable energy legislation, rather than a set of well intentioned plans and policies.

The CEA is a progressive law and the product of the government's long standing commitment to clean energy and reducing greenhouse gases. In essence, the CEA puts into law, key objectives of the government's two Energy Plans (from 2002 and 2007) and its 2008 Climate Action Plan. The CEA lays the foundation for the renewable energy industry to be the economic driver in the Province for years to come.

The CEA also came to be, in part through the efforts of the Green Energy Advisory Task Force, of which I was privileged to be a member. The comprehensive Task Force report can be found here. It's a must read for any one interested in British Columbia energy policy.

The CEA is truly a made in BC piece of legislation, touching on many of the fundamental socio-economic and environmental issues in British Columbia today, like job creation, economic development in first nations and rural communities, greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency and clean energy project development. While the CEA codifies existing policy and introduces some new concepts into law, much of it at this stage is enabling legislation. The nuts and bolts of the CEA will be filled in by regulation over time.

Below is a summary of what we think are the key parts of the CEA:

• The Province is to achieve electricity self-sufficiency by 2016, plus 3,000 GWh of insurance by 2020
• The demand-side management target is raised to an aggressive 66%
• It sets a clean and renewable energy target (an RPS if you will) of 93% (the highest standard anywhere in North America)
• The Province is to become a net exporter of electricity from clean and renewable resources, with BC Hydro being the aggregator and with matters regarding exports being exempt from BCUC regulation (this is a particularly notable and significant part of the law)
• Certain major electricity projects are also exempted from BCUC regulation
• BC Hydro is to deliver comprehensive Integrated Resource Plans (replacing the LTAP's) to Cabinet, every 5 years
• BC Hydro is made stronger by its merger and re-integration with BC Transmission Corp.
• No clean energy projects are permitted in parks or conservancies
• Environmental cumulative impacts of clean energy projects are to be taken into consideration in the Environmental Assessment Act
• There is a feed-in-tariff, but only for emerging technologies (ie, ocean and others to be prescribed)
• Smart meters are to be added by 2012
• Creates a First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund (with details to be prescribed by regulation)
• Mandates reductions of BC's greenhouse gases for prescribed periods to 2050
• Standing Offer Program to be revamped (ie, prices, size and included technologies)

As you can see, the CEA is a complex piece of legislation, one which endeavours to shape the future of British Columbia. We applaud the government for passing this forward-looking and game changing law. Over the coming weeks, our goal with this blog is to provide some deeper insight into what the CEA means to the various stakeholders in the Province. So please continue reading our blog.

In the meantime, here is the link to the Government's website on the CEA which contains some good information in the backgrounders. In addition, there is a new website dedicated to BC's clean energy, called Power of BC. It's also a good resource. As you can see, the government seems to be more committed than ever to clean energy, which, in our view is a great step forward.

You can also follow me and the Megawatt Blog on Twitter.

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BC Hydro announced today that it will award electricity purchase agreements to two additional projects under its Clean Power Call.  Here is the press release.  Two hydro projects are still under consideration (Box Canyon and Castle Mountain).

These projects are:

Long Lake Joint Venture (a JV between Regional Power Inc. and Summit Power Group) - a 31 MW storage hydro project in Stewart, BC. Here is the Terrace Standard's story on the project.

Pacific Greengen Power - a 45 MW run-of-river hydro project in Harrison Hot Springs, BC

These projects bring the total amount of electricity awarded under the Clean Power Call to 3,188 GWh/year of firm energy, considerably less than the 5,000 GWh/year BC Hydro had requested from developers under the 2008 Clean Power Call. 

Remember, the amount of electricity awarded to date is pre-attrition and BC Hydro is using a 30 percent attrition factor for the Clean Power Call. Under past calls for power, BC Hydro has seen attrition rates anywhere from 0 to 100%. So it remains to be seen which projects and how many ultimately will be built.

Out of general interest, here is a map of the current electricity supply to BC Hydro from independent power projects (as of April 1, 2010). The map does not include the projects awarded EPA's under the Clean Power Call.

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Today, the British Columbia government introduced the much anticipated Clean Energy Act into the BC Legislature.

Here is a copy of the first reading of the Act (Bill 17) and here is the government's press release on the annoucement.

Finally, it is worth to check out the government's website for the Clean Energy Act which contains some good background information on the Province's new clean energy plan.

More analysis to come....still need to digest all of this.

It was also great to see the government release a report on the Green Energy Advisory Task Force. It was a pleasure to be a part of this group and happy to see many of the Task Force recommendations now forming part of the new Clean Energy Act. Here is a copy of the full Green Energy Advisory Task Force report.

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Today, BC Hydro added an additional 451 GWh/year of firm energy from four new renewable energy projects awarded EPA's under BC Hydro's Clean Power Call. Here is the press release.

The selected projects are:

• AltaGas  - an 11 MW  waste heat project in Sparwood, BC
• ENMAX/Syntaris joint bid - a 15 MW run-of-river project on Culliton Creek near Squamish, BC
• Run of River Power  - a 25 MW run-of-river project on Mamquam River near Squamish, BC
• Sea Breeze Energy - a 99 MW wind project (Knob Hill) near Port Hardy, BC.

These projects bring the amount of energy awarded under the Clean Power Call to 2,901 GWh/year.

BC Hydro advises that 8 projects remain under consideration.  Of note, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources hinted at upcoming future power calls in his statement in the BC Hydro press release.

Prices under the electricity purchase agreements have not been disclosed. However, a range of prices will be made available in BC Hydro's filings with the British Columbia Utilities Commission under Section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act.

Congratulations to all of the successful companies.

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470 days after it received proposals from 43 proponents for 68 clean energy projects, BC Hydro announced today the results of its 2008 Clean Power Call.

In the first stage of awards, BC Hydro selected 19 projects for electricity purchase agreements (EPA's) comprising 2,450 GWh/year being less than half of the 5,000 GWh/year acquisition target it had requested from developers in the 2008 Clean Power Call. Length of the contracts and financial terms were not disclosed.

Of the 19 projects selected for EPA today, run-of-river and wind projects almost evenly split the generation capacity awarded. This is noteworthy because currently in BC there is only one operating wind park, while there are over 35 run-of-river projects generating to the BC grid. Perhaps BC Hydro may be seeking more wind energy as quality run-of-river projects become more difficult to find.

Here are more details from today's announcement:

14 hydro-electric (run-of-river) projects were selected and will provide BC Hydro with 1,203 GWh of firm electricity per year.  The successful run-of-river developers, projects and respective project capacity are as follows:    

• C-Free Power Corp., a 19 MW's in Gold Bridge, BC
• Cloudworks Energy Inc., 3 projects (37, 18 and 21MWs) in Harrison Hot Springs and Mission, BC
• Creek Power Inc. (Innergex and Ledcor owned), 3 projects (74, 23 and 16MWs) in Pemberton, BC
• Kwagis Power LP (Brookfield Renewable Power), one 45MW project in Port McNeill, BC
• NI Hydro Holding Corp. (Stlixwim First Project Corp. and Stlixwim Partnership), 3 projects (45MW) in Sechelt, BC
• Plutonic Power Corporation and GE Energy, one 124 MW project in Powell River, BC
• Selkirk Power Company Ltd., one 44MW project in Golden, BC
• Swift Power Corp., one 20 MW project in Terrace, BC.

• Finavera Renewables Inc., 4 projects (117, 45, 71 and 60MWs) in Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd, BC
• CP Renewable Energy Limited (Capital Power, formerly EPCOR), one 142 MW project in Tumbler Ridge, BC

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Just announced by BC Hydro, 19 projects have been selected for an award of an electricity purchase agreement under BC Hydro's Clean Power Call.

More to come.

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Today, the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia delivered the Speech from the Throne (click to read), which opened the Second Session of the 39th Parliament of British Columbia.  

The 2010 Olympics and the economy were principal topics of course, but the BC government's commitment to revamping the Province's clean energy industry also featured prominently. Below are some of the highlights from the Speech relevant to the clean energy sector:

• The BC government will take a fresh look at B.C.'s regulatory regimes, including the BC Utilities Commission.
• BC can harness [BC's untapped energy] potential to generate new wealth and new jobs in its communities while it lower greenhouse gas emissions within and beyond our borders.
• Clean energy is a cornerstone of BC's Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one‑third by 2020.
• Building on the contributions of the Green Energy Advisory Task Force, the BC government will launch a comprehensive strategy to put BC at the forefront of clean energy development.
• BC has enormous potential in bioenergy, run‑of‑river, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave and solar energy. We will put it to work for our economy.
• The BC government will introduce a new Clean Energy Act to encourage new investments in independent power production while also strengthening BC Hydro.
  • It will provide for fair, predictable, clean power calls.
  • It will feature simplified procurement protocols and new measures to encourage investment and the jobs that flow with it.
• New investment partnerships in infrastructure that encourage and enable clean modes of transportation, such as electric vehicles, hydrogen‑powered vehicles and vehicles powered by compressed natural gas and liquid natural gas, will be pursued.
• The BC government will support new jobs and private sector investment in wood pellet plants, cellulosic ethanol production, biomass gasification technologies and fuel cell technologies.
• Bioenergy creates new uses for waste wood and beetle‑killed forests and new jobs for forest workers.
• A new receiving license will give bioenergy producers new certainty of fiber supply, while a new stand‑as‑a‑whole pricing system will encourage utilization of logging residues and low‑grade material that was previously burned or left on the forest floor.
• The BC government will optimize existing generation facilities and report on the Site C review this spring.
  • It will develop and capture B.C.'s unique capability to firm and shape the intermittent power supply that characterizes new sources of clean energy to deliver reliable, competitively‑priced, clean power — where and when it is needed most.
• New conservation measures, smart meters and in‑home displays will help maximize energy savings. New smart grid investments and net metering will provide more choices and opportunities for reduced energy costs and more productive use of electricity.
• New transmission investments will open up the Highway 37 corridor to new mines and clean power.
• New transmission infrastructure will link Northeastern B.C. to our integrated grid, provide clean power to the energy industry and open up new capacity for clean power exports to Alberta, Saskatchewan and south of the border.
• We will seek major transmission upgrades with utilities in California and elsewhere.
• If the Province act with clear vision and concerted effort now, in 2030, people will look back to this decade as we look to the 1960s today.

With significant investment in green energy being made elsewhere, both in Canada and the US,  we hope that today's Speech from the Throne demonstrates the BC government's commitment to building the Provincial economy in part with the support of the clean energy sector.

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