Spin Alert! Tia Harceg, who speaks for the IPP industry, is completely distorting the BCUC's ruling.

In its report, the BCUC writes that BC Hydro has not properly tapped into energy conservation. As a result, BC Hydro's future energy demand estimates are grossly inflated. The BCUC logically requests that BC Hydro resubmit an amended proposal before it can approve it. People should remember that we *pay* for that energy with our tax money. As such, BCUC is fulfilling its mandate to protect the public interest by questioning whether we actually need that much new energy.

Burrard Thermal is a back-up plant. It is only used when energy demand peaks in the Lower Mainland, usually for a few weeks in the winter. Its energy is available on the flip of a switch, something that cannot be obtained with most renewable energy sources. Most of the year, Burrard Thermal is off or running at very low capacity. Burrard Thermal works as insurance against sudden demand spikes. To decommission it would be foolish and reckless, and as the BCUC pointed out, "not in the public interest".

Run-of-river energy plants are unable to provide the energy required by British Columbians in the winter, because they produce their peak energy in the spring and summer. It's a hard fact dictated by the laws of hydrology. Consequently, the majority of electrons produced by private run-of-river plants are destined to California, profiting the bottom lines of General Electric, Plutonic Power, and other transnational corporations but not British Columbians. Again, BCUC is correct to point out that this plan does not serve the public interest.

Ivan Doumenc
Vancouver, BC

Tia Harceg is with BC Citizens for Green Energy, an astroturf fake grassroots org set up to help the Libs with there private power propaganda. The group has been tied to the private power industry and the BC Libs

http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/12/18/GreenEnergy/

Murray Martin is one to talk. He’s one of the main mouthpieces of COPE 378's union propaganda hand puppet, BC Citizens for Public Power. Narrow-minded people like Murray Martin just can’t stand the fact that there are people out there who don’t agree with them: people who are willing to stand up and say so.

Ivan Doumenc is full of it when he says the B.C. Utilities Commission were only planning to run Burrard Thermal “for a few weeks in the winter” as “backup energy.”

In order to generate the 5,000 to 6,000 gigawatt/hours of electricity that the BCUC specifically cited in their July 27th decision, Burrard Thermal would need to be run every day, all day, and all year round.

Doumenc is also completely wrong in claiming that the BCUC found B.C. Hydro’s future energy demand estimates to be “grossly inflated.” That’s a load of crap.

In fact, the words “grossly inflated” don’t appear even once in the 236 pages of the BCUC decision. Completely the opposite is true: The BCUC accepted BC Hydro’s forecasts as being suitable for the purposes of the review. Once again, Doumenc is full of it.

The highly organized opponents of green energy projects in B.C. like Ivan Doumenc are as shameless as they are relentless in spreading misinformation. And the only reason they’ve had to resort to misinformation and fallacies is because the facts are simply and clearly not on their side.

Bruce Sanderson, B.C. Citizens for Green Energy
www.greenenergybc.ca

The pot calling the kettle black? Murray Martin and Ivan Doumenc belong to that pseudo-environmental astroturf organization called wilderness committee (sic) that wants to fire Burrard up to gazillion joules and create massive pollution in the valley. Then they want BC hydros new dam built by Americans and GE to destroy the Peace river environment. All credible environmental organizations (David Suzuki, Power Up, Pembina, ) have shunned the union paid Wilderness commitee (sic).
See how the first nations call Wilderness Committee as "fake" and "ignorant". http://www.vancouversun.com/pdf/ippletter.pdf

Always interesting to see astroturf groups for billion dollar interests throwing mud at legitimate grassroots activists. Keep voting those comments down gentlemen: you unfortunately cannot do the same to the people of the communities of Campbell River, Nelson, Kaslo, Powell River, Whistler, Pemberton and the like that have stood up to the industry you support.

And I find it very interesting that the industry guys, like Tia and Bruce (and I would suppose SalmonAngler) are all about Pembina and Tzeporah Berman and Power Up. Aren't most of the grassroots enviros upset about their ties to government and industry? Check out some of the comments at this Tyee story: http://thetyee.ca/News/2009/09/03/HopesDashed/

Challenge to 'BC Citizens for Green Energy'!

Where do you get your funding?

Why don't you disclose it?

What are your ties to the private power industry?

Do your 'volunteer' committee receive pay for the hundreds of letters written?

Why do you only advocate for private power?

What are your ties to the BC Liberal Party?

These questions can all be answered by opening the financial books of your 'organization' to the public. (not just talk)

While everyone argues about who's right and who's wrong, this planet we reside on is steadily marching to it's own destruction. So instead of pointing the finger at this group or that and trying to justify their existence, can we at least agree that something needs to be done to halt the pace at which the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we live on is being contaminated. Put away your ideological rhetoric for one minute and focus on the collective work that needs to be accomplished, otherwise there won't be a future for any generation.

Salmon are dying at an alarming rate, not from Run of River installations or extensive clear cut logging, but from the warming of the Fraser River due to Global Warming and the increasing acidity of the Ocean from fossil fuel pollution, which is fatal to Salmon smolts.

Bears and other wildlife are nearing extinction from air borne pollution, habitat removal by human urbanization and depleting food sources, namely the Salmon.

If you truly wish, as you frequently say, that saving the environment is your true goal, then put aside your distrust for any government, company or organization that is willing to make the commitment and investment to remove our ever increasing dependency on fossil fuels and work towards a better and greener future.

SalmonAngler wrote: <i>"Murray Martin and Ivan Doumenc belong to that pseudo-environmental astroturf organization called wilderness committee (sic)"</i>

Sorry SalmonAngler, I'm just another guy. I'm on nobody's payroll. I hang around with the Wilderness Committee people because I actually like what they are doing. That's the beauty of not receiving money from anyone.

I found hundreds of thousand of dollars that IPPs have given to the BC Liberals just in 2009. No wonder Godro and his Yes-Men (and Yes-Women) do everything their corporate backers ask:

Aeolis Wind Power 4,000
Ainsworth Lumber Company [1] 2,800
AltaGas [1] 3,000
Alterna [1] 3,500
Amec Earth and Environmental 1,000
Robert Poore [3] 1,000
Brookfield Asset Management [2] 50,000
Canadian Hydro Developers 7,000
Cloudworks Energy 15,000
Craig Aspinall and Ass. 900
Crazy Creek 500
Donald McInnes [3] 11,000
Dr Alexander Eunall [12] 300
Elemental Energy 3,500
Enbridge Wind 1,300
Fortis 2,250
Epcor Utilities 9,756
Fred Olsen Renewables [1] 5,000
Fries Creek Hydro 700
General Electric 3,000
Glacier Power 2,400
Global Energy Horizons 500
Golder Associates [11] 5,600
Geoffry Plant [10] 1,150
Hawkeye Energy 750
Hemmera Envirochem [9] 1,650
Innergex 1,500
Jeremy P. Haile [4] 5,700
Kleana Power 3,000
Krushnisky RG "Jako" [8] 500
Ledcor Construction [5] 3,000
Ledcor CMI [5] 7,600
Ledcor Power [1] 2,500
Levelton Consultants 400
NaiKun Wind 21,600
National Public Relations [6] 3,750
Nexterra [7] 10,000
Pacific Bioenergy [7] 8,000
Peter Kewitt 2,000
Peter Kiewit and Sons [5] 12,500
PG & E 1,832.25
Plutonic Power 36,300
Prince George Interior Waste [7] 650
Princeton Cogen [7] 306
Pristine Power 69,900
R. Stuart Angus [3] 1,000
Regional Power 1,000
Renewable Power 2,000
Robert Poore [3] 1,000
Run of River Power 1,850
Rupert Peace Power 650
Sea Breeze Power 1,975
Teck Comico Metals [1] 75,000
TransAlta Utilities 5,500

Source: Elections BC http://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/SA1Search.aspx
[1] bidder for BC Hydro Energy call
[2] 100% owner of Brookfield Renewable Energy
[3] Plutonic Exec
[4] Exec of Knight Peisold
[5] Construction
[6] Member of IPPBC
[7] Bioenergy
[8] Run of River Power Exec
[9] Project mgr Bear Mountain Wind
[10] Renaissance Power Exec
[11] Proponent representantive for Nicomen Wind Energy Project
[12] Water Licence holders