April 20 2017 Site C Panel Recap: Business case for Site C doesn’t hold water
https://www.boardofchange.com/april-20-2017-event-recap-business-case-for-site-c-doesnt-hold-water/
Doug McArthur, director of Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy, Dean Dokkie, Chief of West Moberly First Nation,
Eoin Finn, management consultant, Karen Bakker, Professor, Canada Research Chair, and founding Director of the Program on Water Governance at the University of British Columbia, Paul Kariya, Executive Director of Clean Energy BC
Article and photos by Jenny Tan Click here for more photos by Jenny Tan and VIDEO of the event.
Site C doesn’t make business sense, say experts, and is in dire need of independent review.Last Thursday April 20th at UBC Robson Square, a panel of experts dissected common arguments in favour of Site C, a proposed dam located just outside of Fort St. John on the Peace River in northeastern B.C., noting the project could cost taxpayers to suffer losses of over $1 billion, presents major challenges to constitutional rights of First Nations, and that the increased power supply would outstrip projected demand.
B.C. Hydro pegs the estimated cost of the project at $8.8 billion, which would take B.C. taxpayers until 2094 to pay off.
Even with increased electrification of the economy, said Karen Bakker, UBC professor and Canada Research Chair in Political Ecology, demand for electricity could be met by conservation at a third of the price for a number of years. A commonly touted option of selling power from the Site C dam to Alberta to meet demand increases from the oilsands is not feasible, she said. B.C. would have to sell its power at over $140/MWh; Alberta could obtain enough power to meet its demands from other sources such as the Slave River Hydro Project at a lower cost.