Time to stop Site C
I and my BC Green Caucus colleagues have been raising strong concerns about Site C in the Legislature. We are clear that the province should cancel the mega-project and instead look to a 21st century approach to energy policy.
As the Cabinet is set to make a decision about the fate of the project, we have voiced our concerns in a letter to the Premier. We urge him to stop the ill-conceived project of the former government.
Delayed and over budget
We have the benefit that Newfoundland and Labrador never had with Muskrat Falls. By the time they finish their $6.2 billion project, estimates show it will cost them over $12 billion. The result, a public inquiry to look how the project spun out of control.
The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) report shows our project is heading in the same direction, delayed and over budget. Just last month, the cost grew from $8.3 – $8.9 billion. The fact is, the BCUC warned costs could grow to over $10 billion or more and that it is unlikely to meet the 2024 construction schedule. The risks of tension cracks and contractor disputes are real. And, we are just two years into the nine year project.
Embrace the alternatives
In addition to looking at the costs of Site C the BCUC compared the project to the alternatives. They found a portfolio of conservation and alternatives such as wind and geothermal could offer British Columbians similar benefits of Site C for equal to lower cost to ratepayers. Also, BCUC noted that one of the greatest threats to the project are disruptions in the energy market. Let’s seize the moment and embrace the rapid technological changes in alternative power production and storage.
Finally, Site C comes with substantial challenges with social and environmental costs. Including, the governments commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, climate change and enhancing food security.
Open Letter to Premier John Horgan regarding Site C
[pdf-embedder url=”http://adamolsen.bcgreencaucus.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/12/Open-Letter-Site-C-1.pdf” title=”Open Letter -Site C (1)”]
Question Period
November 28, 2017 – Question to Minister Mungall (Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X31lei3yKvc[/embedyt]
November 22, 2017 – Question to Minister Mungall (Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMk8_9djsIc[/embedyt]
November 9, 2017 – Question to Premier Horgan
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRA5mM5aD9k[/embedyt]
Hi Adam; great questions in the House and good open letter. One critical thing you have missed is reducing the amount of energy that is wasted by using inefficient electrical technology for things like heating our homes. My submission on Site C and my home energy study, which details how we have cut our energy use by almost 70% and our CO2 emissions by 90% in our home, illustrate how British Columbians could save more energy than Site C will generate by switching out inefficient baseboard heaters and electric furnaces for high efficiency heat pumps. If you have not read it, you can read it on the Site C Inquiry site under D. Scott or I’d be pleased to send you a copy. I’ve been trying to get this though to the government but have not had much success. My briefing explains how easy and affordable it would be to do this. It would free up enough power to electrify all the cars that are on BC’s roads today. Hope to hear back from you. Don