Tue Apr 1, 2008
    Publisher: Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times
    Author: Donald McInnes

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 Re: Rhetoric runs on the river, TIMES Out of Time, March 28

What the Pitt River decision has made abundantly clear is that the debate over new energy in B.C. isn't really about what resource option is best to meet our needs -- it is really about painting the private sector with a negative brush and ignoring the benefits of an industry that can help B.C. reduce its reliance on non-renewable energy. The private sector has proven time and again that it can deliver on time and on budget, reducing the risk to the ratepayer. It has also proven, through the 35 projects already operating in B.C., that properly sited projects with community support fit well with the existing Hydro system and can provide long-term benefit through as long as 40-year contracts with BC Hydro to provide power to the people of B.C.

B.C. needs to make a choice. Do we continue to rely solely on imported energy and wait for larger dams to be built, which could take decades? Or do we look at a balance of options -- conservation, large hydro like Site C and smaller green energy projects that are privately developed and can come online in a fraction of the time. All of these options play an important role. We need to stop saying no to an industry that is working to create a province that will sustain itself well into the future and realize that the benefits of independent clean energy far outweigh the negatives in comparison to the alternatives.

Donald McInnes,
vice-chairman, CEO
Plutonic Power
Corporation