ORA collaborated with Engineers Without Borders (UW Chapter) to host a youth engagement workshop for 35 grade 11 students in St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School on March 31st. The group included students from the STEM Club and from the Environment Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Red Seal Program. ORA offered the students a Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE) focusing on real-world environmental issues to be solved. Continue reading
posted November 12, 2013
by Thomas O’Keefe
California was accepting comments on whether or not it made sense to import dirty hydropower from Canada to meet renewable energy standards. Comments were specifically being called for on the draft report entitled “Including British Columbia run-of-river facilities in the California Renewables Portfolio Standards,” that included a March 2013 Consultant Report entitled “Analysis of regulatory requirements for including British Columbia run-of-river facilities in the California Renewables Portfolio Standards.” The prospects of importing British Columbia’s dirtiest hydropower to California are very dim, but the state was soliciting public comment on the report. (Notice of Availability and Request for Comments).
posted January 21, 2014
by Megan Hooker
On January 15th, 2014, the California Energy Commission adopted a final report that reaffirms the integrity of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) regarding imported hydropower. After 5 years of hard work, American Whitewater and our partners in the California Hydropower Reform Coalition (CHRC) and river advocates in British Columbia are celebrating this important victory, which will have a reaching impact on rivers across the border.
What do rivers in B.C. have to do with California’s RPS? In 2011, the state legislature passed the California Renewable Energy Resources Act (Senate Bill X1 2), increasing the state’s RPS goal from 20% to 33% by 2020. In a rush to capitalize on this new standard in the years leading up to the bill’s passage, hydropower developers in B.C. and utilities in California pushed the idea of allowing new hydropower development in B.C. to be considered as renewable.
An excellent CBC interview on “The Current” – Preston Manning talks about California rejecting of BC hydroelectric projects. He refers to hydroelectric with reservoirs as “dirty hydro” because of the methane that is produced by reservoirs – which is much more worse for our climate than carbon dioxide. He says there should be a price on power sources that damage the environment. Check out his interview here.
21 August 2013
Summary:
ORA requests that the Renewable Energy on Crown Land Policy Review take into account the communities and stakeholders that will have to live with the impacts of these hydroelectric dams. Public consultation must be a mandatory component before releasing Crown Land to developers.
A provincial strategy for waterpower development is needed. A strategy that examines the full range of impacts before a site is released to developers, to look at where it makes ecological sense to build hydroelectric dams vs. where it does not make sense. Crown lands are held in trust for the people of Ontario – and therefore they must be effectively and transparently consulted before disposing of a waterpower site. Continue reading
