BC Hydro seeks up to 5000 GWh from clean power

British Columbia utility BC Hydro says its next call for power in the coming months will focus on clean electricity sources. The government-owned utility will seek up to 5000 GWh of energy a year from larger scale projects using proven technologies. To qualify, a facility will have to meet the province's guidelines for clean energy, which are in the process of being updated. BC's energy plan, released earlier this year, says 90% of all electricity generated in the province must come from clean or renewable sources and all new electricity generation projects have zero net greenhouse gas emissions. It also prohibits nuclear generation. BC Hydro's Gillian Robinson said last month the utility was planning to release draft terms and conditions before November. "At that point we will meet stakeholders to get their input, what will help them, what should change, what their proposals might be," she says. After that, the utility must go to the BC Utilities Commission to get its plan approved. The final call should be issued by the end of this year or early in 2008, with winning bids announced by late summer. The utility signed power purchase agreements with 38 independent power producers in its 2006 call, including three wind power projects with a combined capacity of 325.2 MW. The West Coast province is one of two provinces with no installed wind capacity, although both it and New Brunswick are expected to see projects operating next year.