Institutions and Processes for Scaling Up Renewables: Run-of-River Hydropower in British Columbia

1. Institutions and Processes for Scaling Up Renewables:Run-of-River Hydropower in British Columbia Mark Jaccard, Noel Melton and John Nyboer Energy & Materials Research Group Simon Fraser University Presented by Noel Melton Fourth Asian Energy Conference, Hong Kong December 3, 2010

2. Outline • Background • Challenges for renewable energy expansion • Criteria • To evaluate institutions associated with renewable energy expansion • Case study: British Columbia • Overview • Proposal evaluation • Key Points Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

3. Challenges for renewableenergy expansion • Extensive renewable resources • Intermittency, low energy density, inconvenient location • Land-use conflicts, environmental impacts, high costs • Experience of other jurisdictions • Importance of land-use planning • Alignment of energy policy with land use planning • Land use conflicts likely to intensify Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

4. Goals and interests related to expansion of renewable energy • Global Interests • Climate change mitigation • Cost of energy supply • Energy security • Economic growth • Technological development • Local Interests • Local environmental impacts to land, air and water • Land conservation for preservation and recreation • Local economic benefits • Social impacts • Institutions and processes required for renewable energy expansion • Energy and climate policy • Energy system planning • Land use planning • Environmental and strategic assessment Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

5. Criteria • What institutions/processes best able to assess tradeoffs related to goals and interests at different scales of decision making? • Policy integration • Leadership • Economic efficiency • Stakeholder participation Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

6. Case Study: Run-of-River Hydro Development in British Columbia Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

7. BC Overview • Canada’s western-most province • ~90% of electricity from hydropower • BC Hydro • Independent Power Producers • Clean Energy Act (2010) • Virtually all future power projects will be net zero-emission Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

8. BC Overview • Run-of-river hydro • ~60 projects (developed & planned): 1,400MW • 2002 study counted 750 sites with potential <50MW • Cumulative environmental effects • Land use planning and environmental assessment processes Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

9. Water power licenses Source: http://www.ippwatch.info/w/ Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

10. BC: Summary of Status Quo • Processes that determine where/how electricity projects will be developed: Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

11. Proposal Evaluation • Status quo: provincial targets, project-level assessment, agency approvals • Strategic assessment: to determine spatial pattern for development that minimizes local effects AND achieves generation targets Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

12. Key Points (1 of 2) • Tradeoff for policymakers • Quickly increase renewable generation capacity • Protect the local environment from poorly implemented renewable projects • Potential for strategic/inclusive approach to achieve generation targets AND minimize cumulative effects • Implementation challenges (complexity) Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

13. Key Points (2 of 2) • Criteria can help evaluate renewable energy policy in other jurisdictions • Each jurisdiction has unique context • Key dynamic of global vs. local environmental concerns Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

14. Thank-you Questions? Simon Fraser University, Vancouver