Fueling the Economy with Clean Energy

BC Greens will allocate funding for the building of green and clean renewable energy facilities with an emphasis on cooperative and municipally-owned utilities. We will ensure private producers and transmission operators are able to participate in a mixed public/private energy system. We favour the creation of regional energy production systems rather than inefficient, large-scale projects. These systems allow for a built-in resiliency in case of failure and create more long-term jobs than large-scale projects.

A new ministry – combining environment, energy, and climate change portfolios – will oversee a new BC Energy Authority responsible for all aspects of energy regulation and planning for the province. Elected Regional Resource Management Boards will establish a diversified portfolio of projects to meet regional requirements.

Key Goals

• Get the province off oil and gas
• Power the province using only green and clean power
• Provide incentives for citizens and businesses to generate their own power and get off the grid
• Encourage new clean and green energy generation projects
• Promote local and district scale generation over remote projects

What does Clean and Green Mean?

Clean energy does not produce harmful bi- products such as SO2, carbon dioxide, radioactive waste, and other toxic or harmful substances.

Green energy does minimal harm to the environment and its planning and development considers broader economic and social concerns.

In keeping with Green principles, green energy projects are smaller scale and managed locally and regionally.

BC Greens Will

• Establish a Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change
• Create a new BC Energy Authority (BCEA) to support the diversification of energy sources. BC Hydro would report to the new BCEA as would all new power producers
• Make BC Transmission Corp. a division of the BCEA
• Create a clear reporting relationship for the BCEA to the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change
• Mandate elected Regional Resource Management Boards that report to the BCEA for planning purposes, and approval of regional energy generation and distribution systems
• Require the new BCEA to implement Feed-in-Tariffs that will:
  
  • Promote the development of geothermal, solar, ocean and wind power generation
  • Favour local generation projects
  • Favour cooperative and public ownership as well as Small Power Producers (SPPs)
• Repeal Bill 30 – 2006 Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2006 which prevents local oversight of public resources and include local and regional government representation on the new elected Regional Resource Management Boards
• Halt all river-based energy generation projects pending stricter environmental assessment
• Require methane capture and power generation plants at all wastewater and landfill sites
• Phase out all power imports from fossil fuels or other greenhouse gas emitting sources
• Require that BCs short- and long-term energy needs be fully met first, before foreign energy sales take place
• Prohibit the use of food products other than local food waste products for the production of fuels