Re: “A river runs through it” (June 2).
Electricity from independent power producers is bought by BC Hydro under long term contracts to meet the energy needs of BC electricity customers. It is not being sold at a loss as Wilderness Committee national policy director Gwen Barlee states.
More than 100 private-sector power projects are operating throughout rural and regional British Columbia, providing jobs and paying property and school taxes to communities. For many First Nations, the clean energy sector is the natural resource sector in which they want to see more development.
Contrary to the story in which Ms. Barlee is quoted, fish kills are not common to run-of-river projects. Recent monitoring reports to government by independent project monitors indicate that in a number of projects, fish populations are actually healthier than they were prior to the projects. An independent study by Pacific Salmon Foundation in 2013/14 similarly found no adverse impacts on salmonid populations.
Paul Kariya, Executive Director
Clean Energy Association of BC
