The youth of BC's northeast have the most to lose if the proposed coal-fired generating stations proceed and they want their voices heard.
Close to 150 people filled community halls for two public meetings in Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge in late January. The meetings, sponsored by the British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association's South Peace chapter, featured environmental experts from the Pembina Institute and Wildsight. At the end, audiences in each community unanimously supported a call for public hearings into AESWapiti's coal-fired power plant near Dawson Creek.
"We wanted to encourage a dialogue about the potential impacts from coal-fired generation in the Peace," said Karen Campbell, staff counsel with the Pembina Institute. "It is important that community members understand what this plant could mean for their health and the environment and how they can engage in the process." Campbell was pleased at the number of young people in attendance. "They clearly have the most to lose if this plant proceeds to impose a toxic legacy on this region. They will also be the ones living in a world altered by dangerous climate change," she added.
If AESWapiti's 184-megawatt coal-fired power generation project goes ahead, it would release up to 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere annually. Regional air quality would also be diminished as almost 1,300 tonnes of sulphur dioxide, which contributes to smog, would also be released. The presentations also brought forward alternatives that could help meet electricity demand in BC without the negative impacts.
"I was impressed with the turnout and the information presented. People in the northeast clearly want to have an opportunity to better understand what burning coal-fired power will mean for us, and to voice their concerns about this proposal," said Calvin Kruk, mayor of Dawson Creek. "Our city is committed to environmental, economic and social sustainability and we need to fully understand the proposed development footprint in our region," Mayor Kruk added.
Among the issues raised was the fact that the fluidized bed combustion technology proposed by AESWapiti, while meeting provincial guidelines, is completely outdated. Matt Horne of the Pembina Institute showed that gasification is the only coal-based energy technology that could result in near zero emissions. "The technology proposed for the AESWapiti proposal would miss the opportunity to eliminate more than 90% of the sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emissions as compared to a similar sized gasification-based project. A gasification project could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%, but only if carbon capture and storage technologies were included."
After seeing the presentations, Tumbler Ridge councillor Larry White commented on the federal government's recent announcement to provide $230M in funding for research and development into clean energy. "The proposal to burn coal using outdated technology is not logical. This is a prime opportunity to investigate real "clean coal" in our region, and not saddle our communities with polluting coal plants," he said.
"Given the reality of the climate crisis it seems unbelievable that the provincial government is promoting this dirty coal burning scheme," said Cheryl Shuman, co-chair of the BC Sustainable Energy Association's South Peace chapter, who helped organize and host the meetings.
"The BCSEA wants to continue to provide unbiased information on British Columbia's energy policies," said Shuman. "We are concerned that the soon-to-be-released Energy Plan has not been developed in an open process. The government imposed their pro-coal burning policy in their original 2002 Energy Plan with no public debate. Although the process isn't any better this time around, the Energy Plan update presents an opportunity to set BC on a positive path of renewable energy and energy efficiency."
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For information contact:
Calvin Kruk
Mayor, Dawson Creek
Cell: 250 219 2552
Larry White
Councillor, Tumbler Ridge
Cell: 250 242 4499
Karen Campbell
The Pembina Institute
Cell: 604 928 2258
Cheryl Shuman
BC Sustainable Energy Association, South Peace Chapter
Cell: 250 219 4546