Solutions to generating enough electricity meet Vancouver Island’s growing demand are more than just a flick of the switch away, according to a panel of experts at this year’s Vancouver Island Economic Alliance summit.
The Island’s electrical power consumption is increasing rapidly as communities grow and new technologies come on line, such as electric vehicle chargers and heat pump HVAC systems, as government legislation demands homes, commercial buildings and vehicles meet low-carbon, zero-emission standards by the year 2030.
A discussion called Powering the Future was held Oct. 23 at the summit, moderated by Barry Penner, chairperson of Vancouver's Energy Futures Institute and featurig panellists Yuho Okada, president of Barkley Project Group and board chairperson for Clean Energy B.C.; Renee Olson, CEO for Khowutzun Development Corporation; and Ian Welle, CEO of Polar Engineering. The experts discussed how energy production technologies and the role of First Nations could shape a carbon-neutral energy future for the Island by 2050.
“Many people in B.C. think our single biggest source of energy is electricity, because that’s what dominates the conversation,” Penner said. “In fact it represents less than 20 per cent of our total energy consumption of what it takes to move our economy, get us to work, look after our hospitals and so on. Only 17 per cent is supported by electricity – 83 per cent comes from other means, primarily different forms of fossil fuels.”
Penner noted that on the Island, electricity supplies about 25 per cent of energy, but he added that B.C. has a long way to go to replace fossil fuels with electricity, especially when natural gas provides about two-thirds of the energy needed to provide heat in winter.
Targets in the province’s Clean B.C. policy, he said, are premised on the notion that there will be abundance of clean electricity.
“We’re actually importing electricity. We don’t have a surplus at the moment," he said. "We’re importing and, according to B.C. Hydro's annual report … last year we imported almost 24.5 per cent. So almost one in four electrons needed to keep our lights on came from outside British Columbia last year.”
That percentage, Penner said, represents three times the amount of electricity that will be produced by the Site C dam when it comes on line.
Another consideration is climate change and potential future droughts – electricity generation on the Island is primarily from hydro – which could impact hydroelectric production. About 471 megawatts – less than half of the total capacity of electricity production on the Island – is produced by B.C. Hydro and 21 independent power-producing facilities produce the balance.
“The single biggest one being Island Generation in Campell River,” Penner said. “That’s a natural gas-fired power plant co-generation facility, but that’s slated to close under the Clean B.C. program. B.C. Hydro’s been told they can’t renew the contract for that project even though it was running full tilt this summer to make up for the shortage … the amount of electricity capacity for the Island will shrink by about a third once that project is mothballed – if that carries through.”
The Island’s largest and only wind power project, the Cape Scott Wind Farm, completed in 2013, produces 99 megawatts.
“The big kicker for us is 70 per cent of the electricity that we actually use here does not get generated on the Island,” Penner said. “Almost three-quarters is generate on the mainland, so we're dependent on the mainland to keep the lights on … unless we quickly build something else replace it.”
Olson said there’s opportunity in the challenge to find alternative energy sources and infrastructure to produce and deliver that energy, and suggested more waste-to-energy projects could be considered.
“There’s 220 waste-to-energy facilities running in Canada that are working very well," she said. "I think this could be a real stepping stone for [First Nations] to partner with large corporations, like Fortis, and find solutions, like we are, that will just add to the energy grid whilst already using infrastructure that’s in place so that we’re not further labouring the construction industry with complete 100-per cent new infrastructure.”
Okada said a potential solution during peak power demand times, to ease the load on the electrical grid, is to create battery storage systems distributed through residential neighbourhoods.
“That might be able to offset some of those harsh peaks arising from weather or something and I think that may help contribute to a more resilient grid overall and houses could rely on that instantaneous kick of the energy into the system,” he said.
Okada also suggested an incentive system, in which users pay more for electricity during peak demand and less during off-peak times of the day, could help educate users to consider where and how the energy they’re using is generated and the demands they’re placing on the system.
Penner pointed out that battery storage is good for short-term demand of a few hours, but could be a detriment to an already-strained system, trying to meet power demands during multi-day winter cold snaps or summer heat domes when those batteries are also looking to be recharged.
Welle, whose company builds heat pump systems, said a large-scale experiment in Denmark to learn to deal with power spikes, involving a community of about 2,000 homes, involved storing thermal energy generated or captured from solar or other sources in storage facilities such as huge water and stone basins. During power demand spikes, the stored thermal energy could be drawn upon to distribute heat or converted to electricity through turbines for up to 12 hours.
“You don’t necessarily want to have just one solution to everything,” Welle said. “We don’t want to think, OK, we’ve got to store power. Power and energy are the same thing and you can store it in many different ways and electricity is just one of them. You can also think of thermal storage, as well … There’s many different options out there.”
There will also be economic pressures on future energy production, such as environmental protection, compensation to First Nations through fees or equity and ownership where conduits or production is on their lands, and labour market considerations.
“Almost every other jurisdiction in North America is electrifying, so there’s real competition for investment, real competition for talent," Okada said. "There’s real competition for clean energy ... and keeping ahead of that trend is a way to make sure that your overall rate stays low.”
