One year later, clear proof of social and economic benefits of BC’s clean energy projects

Sunday road washout to Tipella, B.C.

In the shadow of the Garibaldi Mountains, the Inchuck-ch forestry road to Tipella can be an adventuresome gamble. The isolated, single track to Pemberton is subject to volatile weather, falling trees or as can be seen in the photo, heart stopping washouts. This past Sunday, an elder from the Douglas “Xa’xtsa” Indian Band was stopped by this flash washout. As he watched, his vehicle (bottom of picture) was pulled into the expanding hole. Such is life for those who live in the remote communities of Tipella and Douglas, at the north end of Harrison Lake.

But road washouts have been just one of the many difficulties faced by residents of this small aboriginal community. Despite overhead BC Hydro power lines running through Xa’Xtsa traditional territory, it was diesel fuel that powered the several dozen homes in the two villages on Douglas Creek for decades. And that diesel fuel had to be trucked down unpredictable roads year round. When washouts occurred, which they do on average twice a year, its impact was felt as diesel ran low and electricity to power homes was also cut back or cut out.   Diesel generating stations are nothing new in remote communities like Tipella. In return for very basic electricity, the community suffered through the brown haze of diesel fumes, the rising price of fuel and an unreliable, unpredictable source of power.

“We never had a proper power supply,” says Douglas Band Chief Dan Harris. “Power surges were blowing TV’s and microwaves. Clocks

Chief Don Harris, Douglas "Xa'xtsa" Indian Band

in the community never kept proper time because they ran faster or slower.”

There were back and forth discussions between government, BC Hydro and band elders for almost 60 years to rectify this disparity. But it wasn’t until 2007 when a private clean energy company stepped in with a solution that things started to change for the people of the Douglas Indian Band. Cloudworks Energy Inc. (now owned by Innergex Energy) realized the potential for run-of-river power generation on the many local creeks. One of the first things the company did was to engage the local Douglas First Nation in the process of bringing clean hydroelectric energy to the community.

“The clean energy projects have made a huge difference,” says Chief Harris. “Until they came along, logging was the main industry. Now we’re seeing the benefit for everyone.”

A year ago, in November 2010, the communities of Tipella, Douglas, Skatin and Baptiste Smith were all officially connected to the BC power grid. A celebratory ceremony was held in Tipella that month to commemorate many years of hard work and negotiation.  A year later, the brown haze is gone. And it’s more than clocks and TV’s that are working well. The trickle down benefits of the clean energy projects are having a long lasting impact on the local economy.

“We got a lot of employment out of it,” says Chief Harris. “It created business partnerships, contracting, and agreements with developers. We negotiated some community investment and obtained long term maintenance jobs at the local power house.”

Community agreements have also brought royalties to the band, some of which go toward maintenance on the community’s vital road link. The clean-energy projects have also brought a slice of modernity to residents.

“The sub-station power house needed an internet communication connection, so we ran a fibre optic line into the community. We got everybody on Facebook now, in their homes and on their phones,” says Harris.

Three years ago the band council built a gas station in the community of Tipella. But without electricity, it’s sat empty and unused. Now it’s up and running and the band is installing a wireless hot spot for tourists.

“We hope to attract tourists to the area to enjoy the natural beauty and the nearby hot springs,” says Harris. “And a former logging camp is being rebuilt to rent out to companies, fire crews and tourists.”

Electricity is also being credited for plans to expand the community and bring home more people. With the old diesel power generator, power usage was maximized preventing homes from being added to the small power grid. The band now has plans to build a number of new houses. And with more jobs and consistent power, the Chief expects more people will be moving back.

“There are seven more power projects in the works including Northwest Stave River” says Harris. “If they get built, our focus will be on tourism.”

Harris says his band has had a solid relationship with Cloudworks Energy. From the start, the company engaged local residents and

Typical run-of-river hydro project

listened to what they had to say. The company respected local culture and traditions and even stopped work when wildlife would enter the area. “There were complaints from other companies that Cloudworks set the bar too high,” says Harris.  Today all evidence of construction is gone, the wildlife has returned and after two huge channels were cleared in the river, spawning coho and sockeye are back in large numbers.

The band experience of negotiating with a company for community benefits and insisting on respect for tradition and culture has paid off. Environmental standards are much higher than government values. And Harris says his band now wants to share what they accomplished with other bands who are considering similar projects.

A year ago, PricewaterhouseCoopers issued a report that projected the impact of independent power projects in B.C. would be $8.8 billion, from run-of-river and wind projects, to almost 87,000 person years of employment during construction generating an additional $1.6 billion in government revenues.

The accounting analysis was correct. What it fails to point out are the social benefits of independent power projects. And for that evidence, look no further than Tipella and Douglas, at the remote north end of Harrison Lake; a community now experiencing long term growth thanks to sustainable clean energy projects in their territory, band leaders committed to improving the lives of their residents and power producers like Cloudworks and Innergex willing to listen and work with those who best know the land.

MC.

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