New energy agreement to help power Nanaimo
NANAIMO – BC Hydro and the City of Nanaimo are pleased to announce an agreement to provide locally-generated power to the community. The city will generate electricity from the new city water system and feed it into BC Hydro's grid.
The energy will be produced using Nanaimo's new water facility, Reservoir Number 1, on Nanaimo Lakes Road. Energy recovery equipment has been installed in the reservoir's control building. When fully functional in April this year, the power generation facility will provide enough electricity to power up to 70 homes.
The agreement follows two years of study, design and construction planning between the partners. The 300 kilowatt project is made possible through BC Hydro's Standing Offer Program, which allows power producers with small power projects – up to 15 megawatts of capacity – to sell power to BC Hydro under a streamlined, simplified process.
The energy produced will reduce the city's carbon footprint, and the revenue earned by selling the power back into the system will help recoup operating costs of the water supply system.
Quotes
John Ruttan, Mayor, City of Nanaimo:
"Nanaimo is very pleased to conclude this agreement with our partner, BC Hydro. This initiative has long been a priority of Council, and demonstrates the city's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and supporting a healthy environment. It will also provide the city with revenue as we can sell power back into the grid, and help recover operating costs of the water supply system."
Doug Little, Vice President, Energy Planning and Economic Development, BC Hydro:
"This agreement makes sense – it's an innovative use of new infrastructure and the project reflects the types of future projects we hope to see under a new stream of the Standing Offer Program that targets small-scale projects with less than one megawatt of capacity. The project will inform how we design the new stream, which will help us meet our clean energy commitments moving forward."
For more information please contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
p. 604 928 6468