Wind power deals secured by BC Hydro will assist in boosting British Columbia's renewable power supply, spurred by a call for power to satisfy a projected surge in demand.

The procurement announced on Dec. 9 will bring almost 5,000 gigawatt-hours (gW-h) per year of clean electricity — enough to power 500,000 homes — across nine projects, boosting the provincial utility’s current supply by eight per cent.

The wind energy assets were awarded 30-year electricity purchase agreements by BC Hydro, and will attract between $5 billion and $6 billion in private investment, the B.C. government said in a release.

Longueuil, Que.-based Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. said three of its projects were chosen, which total 560 megawatts of capacity. Three of Toronto-based Capstone Infrastructure Corporation’s projects adding up to 537 megawatts of capacity were also on the list. Elemental Energy, Ecoener and EDF Renewables rounded out the procurement with one project each.

“We were thrilled,” Patrick Leitch, chief operating officer of Capstone, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada. “You never want to presuppose. We expected it was a very competitive tender.”

Capstone’s projects are expected to begin operations from 2029 to 2031.

Indigenous partnerships are emphasized in the procurement; the projects must have a minimum of 25 per cent equity ownership by First Nations. Eight of the nine elevated the number to 51 per cent ownership. All of Innergex’s projects, for example, are in a 51-49 ownership structure.

The provincial government set out to add approximately 3,000 gW-h of capacity per year by late 2028, as it faces the prospect of a rising population and increased electrification.

B.C.’s call for power

Electricity demand, the B.C. government said, is expected to rise by 15 per cent or more from 2024 to 2030. Population growth, housing construction, business and industrial development, and transportation are forecast to drive the need for more electricity.

Over 90 per cent of the province’s electricity is from renewable sources. A transition to a net-zero future set by B.C.’s government will require substantially more electricity to replace fossil fuels, accommodating electrification of transportation and replacing natural gas-powered appliances.

With 2028 and a 2050 net-zero target looming, the government exempted the projects from environmental assessments. That exemption will also apply to future wind projects in B.C.

Contrasting this decision are policies unveiled in Alberta last week that restrict wind and solar generation.

Capstone learned of the regulatory shift in B.C. when the procurement was announced and is seeking more details, Leitch said. The firm believes it is primarily addressing process efficiency and inter-agency coordination.

The company is unsure how the exemption will affect the speed of its projects, as other factors at play are the timing of grid interconnection upgrades, permitting and construction.

He does not expect relaxed environmental standards for the still-necessary permitting, consultation and community engagement stages.

“We don’t expect that this makes a difference to how thoughtful we have to be about siting, to the environmental studies and screening that will have to be done, or to the amount and quality of consultation and engagement with local First Nations and local communities.”

“With a focus on cost-effective resources and meaningful First Nations partnerships, this is a significant step towards securing clean and renewable energy for British Columbia’s future needs,” Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, said in a statement about the announcement.

B.C. to build more clean power

As it approves more wind power generation, B.C. is also building the Site C hydroelectric dam that will produce 5,100 gW-h per year, and exploring the use of utility-scale batteries to store electricity for peak usage or slower generation periods.

With the wind energy procurement and the Site C hydroelectric dam, Evan Pivnick, the clean energy program manager at think tank Clean Energy Canada, said in a release the province is on track to meet its forecasted electricity demand for 2030.