Clean Energy Canada | On Location: Clean Energy BC Project Showcase
May 16, 2014

“We are part of the solution that the world needs.”

That’s how Paul Kariya, executive director of Clean Energy BC—the industry association representing the province’s independent power generators—rallied the troops at a project showcase and networking event this week in Vancouver. Kariya told the crowd that the $4 billion industry directly employs 2,800 British Columbians, including 700 aboriginals.

He welcomed three guests who in turn profiled a trio of clean energy projects:

• Knight Piesold’s Katrina Wechselberger profiled Elemental Energy’s Box Canyon project—a small (15 MW) run-of-river hydro plant under construction at the north end of Howe Sound near Vancouver. Elemental will throw the switch in early 2016.

• Salim Semsarilar, a project engineer at Kiewit, presented on the Kokish River Hydro Project on the Kokish River on northern Vancouver Island. It entered commercial operation last month.

• Brock John, director of wind operations for AltaGas, profiled the Bear Mountain Wind Park, British Columbia’s first wind farm, located on a ridge near the city of Dawson Creek in northern British Columbia. The project’s 34 turbines collectively rate a capacity of 102 MW.

“We want to protect the environment, build legacy infrastructure, and be part of sustainable economic development in the province,” said Kariya.

VOITH, the leading global supplier of hydroelectric turbines and other equipment, sponsored the project showcase.

All photos: Geoff Howe.