Pair of Kamloops-area wind farms among 9 given go-ahead by BC Hydro

VICTORIA — A pair of Kamloops-area wind projects were selected by BC Hydro as part of its 2024 call for power Monday (Dec. 9).

The 143-megawatt Mount Mabel Wind project and the 197-megawatt Highland Valley Wind project were among the nine wind-energy projects that will be moving ahead.

In a news release, BC Hydro said it had a strong response to its call for new renewable power generation projects and that it will award 30-year electricity purchase agreements to all nine projects that were chosen.

“With the 2024 call for power, we have achieved our objective to provide new renewable and affordable electricity to power growing communities across the province,” BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Reilly said, in a statement.

While both projects list Capstone Infrastructure as Independent Power Producer [IPP] partners, the Mount Mable project is being developed in conjunction with the Lower Nicola Indian Band, while the Highland Valley project is partnering with the Ashcroft Indian Band.

“When we embarked on this initiative, we committed to meaningful economic reconciliation by requiring all projects to include First Nations ownership,” O’Reilly added.

“These new wind projects represent up to $3 billion of ownership by First Nations, marking a historic step forward in energy partnership and reconciliation.”

In a bid to ensure that the projects are get built “as efficiently as possible”, the Province intends to exempt these and all future wind projects from environmental assessments. It says it will still ensure that First Nations interests and environmental mitigations “are protected and maintained.”

“We need these new energy generation projects urgently to meet growing demand for power and accelerate our efforts to build a prosperous and inclusive clean economy,” added Energy and Climate Solutions Minister, Adrian Dix, in the statement.

“Now that the projects have been selected, we’re going to work together with BC Hydro, First Nations and proponents to get these projects built quickly, responsibly and efficiently, and get those turbines spinning.”

BC Hydro says the nine projects combined will boost the province’s hydro-electric grid by eight per cent a year, enough to power 500,000 homes.

“These new wind projects will start to come online later in the decade and all of them are expected to be operational by the fall of 2031,” O’Reilly added.

The nine projects that were chosen are listed below in alphabetical order:

Boulder and Elkhart Wind Project

• Proponent: Elkhart Wind Limited Partnership
• IPP partner: Elemental Energy
• First Nation partner: Upper Nicola Band
• Project size in megawatts (MW): 94
• Regional system: South Interior West

Brewster Wind Project

• Proponent: Brewster Wind Inc.
• IPP partner: Capstone Infrastructure
• First Nation partner: Wei Wai Kum First Nation
• Project size (MW): 197
• Regional system: Vancouver Island

Highland Valley Wind Project

• Proponent: Highland Valley Wind Inc.
• IPP partner: Capstone Infrastructure
• First Nation partner: Ashcroft Indian Band
• Project size (MW): 197
• Regional system: South Interior West

K2 Wind Project

• Proponent: K2 Wind Power Inc.
• IPP partner: Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.
• First Nation partner: Westbank First Nation
• Project size (MW): 160
• Regional system: South Interior West

Mount Mabel Wind Project

• Proponent: Mount Mabel Wind Inc.
• IPP partner: Capstone Infrastructure
• First Nation partner: Lower Nicola Indian Band
• Project size (MW): 143
• Regional system: South Interior West

Nilhts’I Ecoener Project

• Proponent: Nilhts’I Ecoener Energy Corp
• IPP partner: Ecoener
• First Nations partner: Lheidli T´enneh
• Project Size (MW): 140
• Regional system: Central Interior

Nithi Mountain Wind Project

• Proponent: General Partnership
• IPP partner: Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.
• First Nation partner: Stellat’en First Nation
• Project size (MW): 200
• Regional system: North Coast

Stewart Creek Wind Project

• Proponent: Stewart Creek Power Inc.
• IPP partner: Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.
• First Nation partner: West Moberly First Nation
• Project Size (MW): 200
• Regional system: Peace

Taylor Wind Project

• Proponent: Taylor Wind Project Inc.
• IPP Partner: EDF Renewables
• First Nation partner: Saulteau First Nations
• Project size (MW): 200
• Regional system: Peace