A L T E R N A T I V E E N E R G Y
S P E C I A L F E A T U R E
A Sustainable Strategy
The investments being made to grow and develop
the alternative energy sector in B.C. bodes well for
the province's environmental and economic future
T
he biggest criticism about
alternative energy is that no
single energy source will ever
replace fossil fuels in meeting
global energy needs.
But the argument is specious,
since most people in the
alternative energy business have long held
that all types of sources—with fossil fuels
maintaining a predominant role—will be
required to serve our growing population
for the foreseeable future.
Still, the rise of alternative energy (or
"renewable" energy, as proponents prefer)
is remarkable, especially in B.C. Here, it has
grown from fringe to mainstream in a few
short decades and today supplies about
20 per cent of the province's total energy
requirements (enough to power 1.5 million
homes), according to Clean Energy BC.
Although sluggish world economies
and the downturn of the resource sector
have reduced our urgency to develop more
power, Clean Energy executive director
Paul Kariya believes now is the perfect time
to further develop renewable resources.
"The big three are wind, solar and biomass,
and we have enormous potential in B.C. for
more," he reasons. "The northeast part of
B.C. and Northern Vancouver Island have
steady, seven-nine knot winds, and regions
such as the Okanagan are renowned for
their sunshine."
As for biomass, organizations such as
the Wood Pellet Association of Canada
are intensifying their efforts to persuade
government to grant access to waste wood
that would otherwise be burned as slash
(pellet producers have turned waste wood
from B.C.'s forests into a $300-million-per-
year export business).
Kariya, whose organization represents
and advocates for clean energy project
developers, points out that of the 20 per
cent of renewable energy being produced
here, none of it is subsidized. "Plus, last
year $2 billion of capital expenditures was
spent in the private clean energy sector," he
says. "So this is big business."
With undisguised pride, he adds,
"We're the only sector First Nations people
fully embrace, mainly because renewable
energy projects are less impactful to the
environment. Therefore, it's important
According to Clean Energy BC, an
additional 25 run-of-river hydro projects
supplying electricity to BC Hydro are
expected to be in operation by 2018
