Run of River – now you don’t have to give a “dam”
Posted by changmai on June 13, 2009
Okay corny title…I know. Anyways one of the latest green technology is starting to make a splash in Vancouver (no pun intended). Run of River is essentially harnessing the power of water. Water goes into pipes, which increases pressure within and is enough to spin turbines. Its almost like a dam, but without such severe drawbacks – it does NOT fundamentally change the area’s eco-system.
Currently in British Columbia, there are about 35 run-of-river projects, and BC Hydro has identified another 900 potential places. Plutonic Power, a Western Canadian sustainable energy developer, is building a 123 MW run-of-river power plant in BC’s Toba Valley Inlet, about 110 miles north west of Vancouver. This project should be completed some time next summer, and provide power to about 75,000 homes. This would make it the largest green project in BC. Plutonic plans on adding another 17 run-of-river power plants in Bute Intlet, which is near the Toba Valley Inlet. Contingent on government approval, it could generate up to 1027 MW, enough to power 300,000 homes.
Its a great technology, however not everyone is too excited about it. Back in April, hundres of people protested against run-of-river outside the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. They were against the environmental damage from constructing these projects, and increased energy costs charged by these private companies. Ultimately, there will always be people against such things..with numerous having the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) syndrome. BC is a province has numerous sources of water, and I feel that we should be self-reliant and not depend too much on power from other provinces/countries. The creation of run-of-river plants would have to cut down trees and clear paths to make way for power lines and such. So in a sense, its not super “green”. But do the ends justify the means? I’ll leave that one to residents who live close to such projects.
