Site C dam

Site C
Location of Site C in British Columbia
Official name Site C Clean Energy Project
Location British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates 56°11′41″N 120°54′51″W / 56.19472°N 120.91417°W / 56.19472; -120.91417Coordinates: 56°11′41″N 120°54′51″W / 56.19472°N 120.91417°W / 56.19472; -120.91417
Opening date 2024 (planned)
Construction cost C$8.335 billion (est.)
Owner(s) BC Hydro
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Earth fill[1]
Impounds Peace River
Height 60m[1]
Length 1,050m[1]
Reservoir
Surface area 9,330 ha[1]
Power station
Installed capacity 1,100 MW[1] (max)
Annual generation 5,100 GWh[1]

The Site C Dam (or "Site C Clean Energy Project") is a $8.3 billion project by BC Hydro for a large-scale earth fill hydroelectric dam on the Peace River in north-eastern British Columbia, Canada.[1] The site is downstream from the existing W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams. Designs call for an estimated capacity of approximately 1,100 MW and an annual output of 5,100 GWh of electricity.[2] This will be the first large dam built in BC since 1984 and BC's fourth largest producer of electricity.

History

If built, it would be the third of four major dams on the Peace River that were initially proposed in the mid-twentieth century. The first project is the flagship W. A. C. Bennett Dam 19 kilometres west of Hudson's Hope. The Bennett Dam was completed in 1967 and began operation in 1968. Construction of the Peace Canyon Dam was completed in 1980 at a point 23 km downstream of the W. A. C. Bennett dam. The third dam – "Site C" – was also proposed at the time for a site 83 km downriver of the Peace Canyon dam, or approximately 7 km southwest of Fort St. John. Site C would flood 83 km of the Peace River, widening it by up to 3 times, as well as 10 km of the Moberly and 14 km of the Halfway Rivers. The initial proposal was never completed, however it was turned down after BC Utilities Commission hearings in 1983. It has since come under review as BC Hydro reconsiders expansion of its dam capacity on the Peace.[2] The fourth proposed dam on the BC segment of the Peace River, Site E, near the BC/Alberta border was taken off the planning process during the 1982 hearing. A cost estimate produced during the 2007 feasibility study placed the financial cost at a maximum of C$6.6 billion based on the 1981 design, safety, and engineering standards.[3][4] An updated cost projection was released in May 2011 placing the estimated cost at $7.9 billion.[5]

Restarted

In April 2010, the provincial government announced plans to advance planning for the facility, moving it to the regulatory review phase.[2] In October 2014, Site C received environmental assessment approvals from the federal and provincial governments after a three-year environmental review, including a Joint Review Panel process. In December 2014, the provincial government announced a final investment decision, approving the construction of the hydroelectric project at a cost of $8.335 billion, as well as a project reserve of $440 million. A notice of Site C construction commencing in 2015 was issued July 2015.[6]

Opposition

The proposal is controversial[7] as the long, narrow reservoir would require the flooding of approximately 5,340 hectares of land[1] along 83 km of the Peace River valley, reaching upstream to the Peace Canyon Dam.[8] This would include the loss of 3,433 hectares of Class 1 through 3 lands, of which approximately 1,299 hectares have high agricultural utility, and 367 hectares have moderate agricultural utility. Approximately 541 ha of land is currently cultivated and used for canola, grain, forage, and improved pasture.[9] Members of the Treaty 8 First Nations boycotted the official announcement ceremony at the Bennett Dam in April 2010,[7] while the West Moberly First Nations has publicly stated that it is considering legal action to oppose the dam.[7]

Opposition to the project is based upon the Joint Review Panel's finding that the need for the electricity has not been clearly demonstrated. BC Hydro in the 2013 Integrated Resource Plan identified 5 levels of conservation, DSM 1 through DSM 5 which would provide more than double the output of the project, costing approximately half the money, and providing two to three times the number of jobs. Opposition is based upon six tenets: the electricity is not required, it is much more costly than alternatives and costs do not include getting the electricity to the Vancouver area, 1000 km southwest where the power will be used, it does not respect the First Nations' Treaty rights, it destroys valuable farmland, it is harmful to the environment - endangered species, lost forests and farmlands, fisheries and mammals species impacts, CO2 and methane emissions, employment is short-term and is between 1/2 and 1/3 the number of jobs from conservation - DSM.

Climate Change

BC's neighboring province Alberta burns coal to account for 73.8% of utility-generated power in 2007, followed by natural gas, with 20.6%.[10] Alberta accounted for 47% of Canada's coal consumption. Exporting hydro power to Alberta would reduce Canada's emission of greenhouse gas.

Flooding land creates methane increasing global warming [11][12] although, so do natural wetlands.[13]

A two-year study of carbon dioxide and methane release from reservoirs in northern Quebec concluded that, hydroelectric reservoirs are emitters of greenhouse gases though on a much smaller scale than conventional thermal power plants of similar capacity.[14] However, this study did not look into how these emissions compare to the capacity of a region with significant forest cover to absorb CO2.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Backgrounder: About Site C" (PDF). BC Hydro. Retrieved 4 Feb 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Province announces Site C Clean Energy Project". BC Hydro. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Tab for Site C dam could hit $6.6 billion". Vancouver Sun. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Site C Clean Energy Project. BC Hydro. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  5. ↑ Garstin, Michaela (26 May 2011). "Total projected cost of Site C dam to be $7.9 billion". Northeast News (Fort St. John, British Columbia). Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  6. ↑ https://www.sitecproject.com/sites/default/files/Notice%20of%20Construction%20Activities%20-%20July%202015.pdf
  7. 1 2 3 Burrows, Matthew (22 April 2010). "Natives plan to fight Site C dam planned for Peace River". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  8. ↑ https://www.sitecproject.com/sites/default/files/info-sheet-about-site-c-january-2015_0.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents_staticpost/63919/93686/EIS_Executive_Summary.pdf
  10. ↑ Statistics Canada 2009, pp. 20–21
  11. ↑ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/methane-emissions-may-swell-from-behind-dams/
  12. ↑ http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2013/acs-presspac-july-31-2013/sediment-trapped-behind-dams-makes-them-hot-spots-for-greenhouse.html
  13. ↑ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/GB001i001p00061/full
  14. ↑ http://www.researchgate.net/publication/248816831_Production_of_the_greenhouse_gases_CH_and_CO_by_hydroelectric_reservoirs_of_the_boreal_region

External links

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