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Canada could supply the U.S. “Clean Power Plan”

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) released a brief in April that “assesses the potential for the United States to use hydropower imported from Canada as part of their strategy to implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s, ‘Clean Power Plan.’ “

In its brief, C2ES provides an overview of hydro technology, discussing its benefits and challenges; existing Canadian electricity imports and the potential for expansion; and the relevant aspects of the Clean Power Plan and EPA’s proposed treatment of domestic and imported hydropower.

“The final section analyzes the impact of potential changes to the proposed Clean Power Plan on how states can leverage Canadian hydropower to reduce their power sector emissions,” C2ES said.

Based in Virgina, C2ES is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization launched in 2011 as the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The organization said it is working to advance strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change.

To read the entire brief, visit www.c2es.org and search for Canadian Hydropower.

Saskatchewan River Weir initiative enters next steps after vote

City councilors want to learn more about a potential hydroelectric project at the South Saskatchewan River Weir in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

According to the city, an engineering pre-feasibility report conducted by Knight Piesold in 2009 indicates, “Depending on the size and capacity of the proposed hydropower station, the estimated capital costs range between C$26.3 and C$57.9 million, with annual revenue projections estimated between C$1.9 and C$5.5 million beginning in year 2016.”

Saskatoon Weir, completed in 1940, is an 11-foot-high, concrete, ogee-crested structure about 985 feet long. It is an overflow-type dam used to raise the level of the South Saskatchewan River through Saskatoon. The city of Saskatoon owns the weir, but there are many agencies that have jurisdiction as to what can or cannot be done with river or riverbank development.

At the Saskatoon City Council meeting in April, official minutes indicate Cliff Smith, consulting hydraulic engineer, said Saskatoon Light & Power asked him in 2010 to do a third-party review of the previous report. In Smith’s opinion, costs were underestimated and benefits overestimated. Smith thinks the total costs for the project could be in excess of C0 million.

In an 8-3 vote, the council directed city administration to report back to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services with development options and potential next steps to advance the hydropower initiative.

Programs help animals impacted by BC Hydro dams

A BC Hydro press release said British Columbia’s animals would receive help to continue their survival with funding through the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP). According to the release, “The FWCP’s regional boards have approved 124 fish and wildlife projects for 2015-16 with a combined value of about C$8.9 million.”

Included on the list are initiatives to help grizzly bears, sockeye salmon, caribou, wolverines, bats, toads, herons and turtles.

FWCP is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, public stakeholders and First Nations. The partners work to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by existing BC Hydro dams.

Several projects will support species and habitat enhancement, including:

— Restoration of grassland ecosystems at Sheep Pasture that will improve habitat for bighorn sheep, elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, Lewis’s woodpecker and American badger;

— Investigation of factors limiting moose survival in the Parsnip and Peace River regions;

— A Lillooet Tribal Council study of sockeye and coho production and coho and bull trout habitat on Gates Creek near Anderson Lake;

— Identification of habitat stewardship and restoration opportunities to ensure grizzly bear access to their primary food resource, huckleberries, in the West Kootenay;

— Revitalization of a kokanee-spawning stream in Revelstoke;

— Assessment of habitat and connectivity of the blue-listed (vulnerable) wolverine in the Southern Columbia Mountains;

— Maternity penning for woodland caribou to enhance the survival of calves within the Peace and Columbia regions;

— Increase the robustness, density and distribution of marmot colonies in the Buttle Lake area near Campbell River; and

— Mapping winter range and summer foraging habitat for the blue-listed Roosevelt elk on the B.C. coast.

For a summary of 2015-16 projects funded by the FWCP, visit fwcp.ca.

Briefly…

Manitoba Hydro is refurbishing turbine-generator Unit 1 at its 88-MW Pine Falls project on the Winnipeg River. Completed in 1952, Pine Falls has six units. The Canadian provincial utility is contracting unit disassembly, refurbishment of components and reassembly.

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