— Sides with Princeton mayor against proposed power plant —

(OSOYOOS TIMES — September 23, 2006) —

Council has agreed to write a letter to the province opposing a coal-fired power plant proposed for the Princeton area, but its opposition may have come too late, as BC Hydro has already approved the project. At the same time, environmental groups are calling for full public hearings for coal-fired plants.
Princeton Mayor Randy McLean had asked the councils in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to support an initiative to look at the environmental impacts of a proposed coal-fired generation plant near Princeton. McLean expressed his concerns in a letter to Osoyoos Mayor and Council, stating the practice of coal burning is an outdated process presently being banned in Ontario and around North America.
Burning pulverized coal produces a number of contaminants, including mercury. Compliance Coal (sic) and the provincial government have other options, he wrote.
He went on to state that although the process of coal gasification would initially be more expensive, the costs would be outweighed by long-term medical and environmental health benefits. In Chaplin, Saskatchewan, a major mineral firm has announced a coal gasification project that will begin producing power in 2007. This plant will produce near-zero emissions, making it even more environmentally-efficient than the natural gas power plant it is replacing.
At the September 5 Osoyoos Town Council meeting, Councillor Stu Wells made a motion for Council to send a letter of opposition to the province regarding coal-fired power generation. I think it would be absolutely ridiculous to go to coal-fired generation; this is old technology. It would be a very backwards move if it ever happened in our valley.
Councillor Allan Carswell agreed. Coalbed methane is certainly the way of the future. We know what the long-term impacts [of burning coal] are. We know what burning coal does to the atmosphere and we know it's not the way to go.
Councillor Ted Cronmiller, originally from Ontario, concurred with Wells and Carswell. When I think of Ontario and coal-fired energy and the air pollution that was created, it was just horrendous and we don't want to go there.
However, Council's motion was moved the same day the Vancouver-based Compliance Energy Corporation (CEC)announced its subsidiary, Compliance Power Corporation, had signed a 30-year electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro for its proposed 56-megawatt Princeton Power Project. Power will be produced through the combined use of coal and wood; coal for the project will be mined from the company's Basin Coal Mine, located 30 kilometres northwest of Princeton, and wood waste will be sourced from the surrounding area.
According to CEC's September 5 press release, the plant is expected to produce electricity for over 40,000 homes, create 30 to 40 full-time jobs, and generate $40-$55 million in annual revenue. The project is owned 90 per cent by CEC and 10 per cent by the Upper Similkameen Indian Band.
A September 11 press release was issued by the B.C. chapter of the Sierra Club, calling for full public hearings to be included in environmental assessments of B.C.'s two coal-fired power plants, in Princeton and Tumbler Ridge.
In a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell, signed by the Sierra Club of Canada (B.C. Chapter), David Suzuki Foundation, Federation of BC Naturalists and six other organizations, the groups claim current B.C. guidelines would allow the plants to emit more pollution than the proposed Sumas 2 gas-fired power plant in Washington State, which the B.C. Liberal government rightly opposed because of air quality concerns.rnThe groups point out the decision to commit B.C. to a coal-fired electricity strategy was made without public discussion or consultation.
They estimate the Princeton and Tumbler Ridge coal-fired plants would emit up to 70 times more nitrogen oxide, 260 times more sulphur dioxide, and seven times more particulate matter than the proposed Sumas 2, as well as toxic mercury emissions¦. and vent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gasses each year.rnThe environmental groups say sustainable energy alternatives, such as wind, solar, tidal and small hydro projects, can reduce the province's greenhouse gas emissions, create more jobs, reduce air pollutants and improve human health.