BC could save $1.6 billion if Site C isn’t completed: report

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The province could save around 1.6 billion dollars if it decides to stop construction on the Site C Dam project according to a report from an American company.

Robert McCullough is one of the people behind the report from McCullough Research.

He says with the price of wind and solar energy generation continuing to drop, it doesn’t make sense to invest so much money into hydroelectricity.

“The real problem is not that these mega-dams are bad or evil or dishonest, they aren’t. It’s just that the world has moved on.”

This research also noted a previous report citing Deloitte studied previous demand forecasts made by BC Hydro and found that they overestimated past forecasts for electricity by nearly 30.8 per cent.

He says the idea that we’ll be able to sell any surplus to the States is also not true. The report says if Site C were completed, BC Hydro will almost certainly lose money on any exports of surplus electricity to the United States because of low export prices.

“Not only could you not afford to sell into the US market this year but you’d even lose more money next year and following years. And really, that’s not that surprising when you consider changes in the industry.”

He says with a new government in place, there is a chance to review some of these major projects.

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