Environmental groups call for improved renewable energy planning in B.C.

Vancouver – The B.C. government missed the opportunity of the Western Renewable
Energy Zones (WREZ) initiative, a joint U.S.-Canada energy planning
process. That’s the assessment of a number of B.C.’s leading
environmental organizations.

Due to poor analysis within B.C.,
environmental groups have no confidence that the “Qualified Resource
Areas” identified by WREZ are the best places in which to develop the
province’s green energy. WREZ released its Phase I report at a meeting
of the Western Governors’ Association in Park City, Utah on Monday.

“Going into this energy planning process, we already knew that B.C. has
excellent potential for renewables,” says Nicholas Heap, Climate and
Energy Policy Analyst for the David Suzuki Foundation. “What the WREZ
process promised — and what B.C. failed to do — was identify areas in
B.C. that combine both high energy potential and relatively low
environmental sensitivity. When we avoid environmentally sensitive
lands right off the bat, we can develop more renewable energy, faster,
with greater public support and reduced risk to public finances and our
sensitive ecosystems,” notes Mr. Heap.

Unfortunately, the work done in B.C. failed to follow the WREZ process.
It excluded much of the province?s energy resources from consideration
at the outset and favoured existing Independent Power Producer (IPP)
proposals. This weakness was compounded by neglecting to screen out
lands already identified by the province as environmentally sensitive.

“Among other gaps, we understand B.C. government staff intended that
wilderness protection areas in the province’s Land and Resource
Management Plans (LRMP) would be excluded from the WREZ Qualified
Resource Areas, but they weren’t given enough resources to get the job
done. Leaving out years of community input and environmental rigor is
not the smart approach to energy planning we need in B.C.,” states
Marlene Cummings, B.C. Forest Campaigner for ForestEthics. “How can we
make the best decisions for transitioning B.C. to a green energy future
if we start by ignoring a huge part of our renewable energy resources,
and then promote development in areas that we already know are a bad
idea?” asks Ric Careless, Executive Director of B.C. Spaces for Nature.

“The WREZ outputs are meant to be important inputs to the BC Utilities
Commission’s current inquiry into B.C.’s 30-year transmission needs.
This quasi-judicial process will set the framework to develop B.C.’s
energy resources and electricity grid,” said Tom Hackney,
Vice-President for Policy of the BC Sustainable Energy Association. “If
the BCUC cannot obtain better information than the current WREZ
results, the quality of the Commission’s outcomes will be compromised.”

“It’s critical that we get this analysis right in B.C. The BCUC process
requires that we get it done this summer in order to find out where
B.C.’s high-energy, low-impact resources are actually located. Our
province’s future as a truly green energy producer depends on it,”
concludes Nicholas Heap.