Maturity of Industry

Overall, there are projects totaling a capital cost of at least $2.1Billion under contract to BC Hydro. Based on the recent Energy Plan that outlines policies for BC Hydro and the BC Government, the is amount will likely double in the next few years as BC Hydro secures even more contracts to meet its overall goal of self sufficiency with insurance by 2016. For the Clean Call in 2008, BC Hydro has indicated that it will contract for at least 5000GWh (approximately 2000MW) from IPPs that are developing renewable power projects. Additional Calls for Tenders are also likely, given the persistent and widening gap between electricity generation and load in BC. It is important to note that competition in the IPP industry is often subject to influences that favor one form of generation over others. For example, prior to the recent Energy Plan, coal energy producers enjoyed a premium due to the firm power they provide, whereas most renewable energy projects are intermittent. As a result of the 2007 Energy Plan, however, coal plants are required to have no carbon emissions, and thus use sequestration technology which is not commercially available. These biases are constantly under review by BC Hydro and the government in the structuring of Calls for Tender, and in some cases separate processes are started (such as the recent call for Biomass generation from interior forests destroyed by the Mountain Pine Beetle).