- Mina Laudan, Director, Public Affairs & Community Consultation/Properties
BC Hydro Site C Clean Energy Project
BC Hydro Site C Clean Energy Project
Background
Site C will be a third dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. It will be an earthfill dam, approximately 1,100 metres in length, and 60 metres high above the riverbed. The reservoir will be approximately 83 kilometres long and will be, on average, two to three times the width of the current river.
Once built, Site C will be a source of clean and renewable electricity for over 100 years. It will provide approximately 1,100 megawatts of capacity, and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity each year – enough electricity to power more than 450,000 homes.
As the third project on one river system, Site C will gain significant efficiencies by taking advantage of water already stored in the Williston Reservoir. This means that Site C would generate about 30% of the energy produced at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, with only 5% of the reservoir area.
The Site C Clean Energy Project is now in Stage 3, Environmental and Regulatory Review.
Based on the key findings of Stage 2, including extensive public and stakeholder consultation, BC Hydro recommended that the Site C Clean Energy Project proceed to the next stage of project planning and development, and on April 19, 2010, the provincial government directed BC Hydro to proceed to Stage 3.
Public and stakeholder input received during Stage 2 will shape the ongoing design of environmental baseline and effects assessment studies, as well as issues and topics for public and stakeholder consultation in Stage 3. Kirk & Co. is providing public consultation and communications services to the Site C Clean Energy Project.Stage 2 Public and Stakeholder Consultation
In Stage 2, Kirk & Co. designed and executed a comprehensive public consultation program incorporating public input from an early Pre-Consultation round into two subsequent Project Definition Consultation rounds.
A key result from Stage 2 consultation was that more than two-thirds (69%) of provincial consultation participants agreed that Site C should continue to be pursued if conservation, upgrading existing equipment and investing in new sources were insufficient to meet the electricity needs of the province. Overall, 57% of consultation participants agreed with this, while in the Peace River region, consultation participants were evenly split (47%/47%) on their level of agreement.
Kirk & Co.’s work during Stage 2 ensured that communications and public consultation regarding the potential project followed best practices in consultation and were well known to key stakeholders and the public.
As shown in the table below, participation in the three rounds of consultation was extensive, and reached thousands of people in the Peace River region and around the province.
| Pre-Consultation | Round 1 Consultation | Round 2 Consultation |
| 686 total participants | 936 total participants | 909 total participants |
| 400 participants attended stakeholder meetings | 284 participants attended stakeholder meetings | 358 participants attended stakeholder meetings |
| 48 stakeholder meetings | 29 stakeholder meetings | 26 stakeholder meetings |
| 56 people attended a public meeting and open house in Hudson’s Hope | 380 people attended 10 open houses | 326 people attended 7 open houses |
| 305 feedback forms returned (67 online, 238 hard copy) | 224 feedback forms returned (76 online, 148 hard copy) | 345 feedback forms returned (177 online, 168 hard copy) |
| 31 submissions (fax, email, phone and mail) | 22 submissions (fax, email, phone and mail) | 72 submissions (fax, email, phone and mail) |
| 200 visits to Fort St. John Community Consultation Office | 250 visits to Fort St. John Community Consultation Office | 153 visits to Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope Community Consultation Offices |
Public Materials
Kirk & Co. produced a variety of print media and web materials to support the consultation process. Materials included discussion guides and feedback forms, display boards, postcard mail-outs, newspaper public notices, radio ads, an interactive project website, and materials for community consultation offices located in Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope. Kirk & Co. also assists in the management of community relations and maintains a public inquiry line and project email address. In addition, Kirk & Co. coordinated the production of artists’ renderings of the potential dam site and supported the development of video productions.
Consultation Implementation
Kirk & Co. coordinated and facilitated 103 stakeholder meetings and 18 open houses from December 2007 to December 2008, providing facilitation services, meeting recording and logistics support to BC Hydro. Following each round of consultation, Kirk & Co. produced a Consultation Summary Report, highlighting feedback received through feedback forms, key themes from stakeholder meetings and open houses and submissions from stakeholders.
Key milestones include:
- Completion of Pre-Consultation and two rounds of Project Definition Consultation
- Production of a Stage 2 report summarizing key results of environmental, engineering, financial and consultation work
- Stage 3 Announcement in Hudson’s Hope
- Formation of a Regional and Local Government Liaison Committee
Website
Site C Clean Energy Project
402 – 1250 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1C6 Tel: 604 688.7220 Email: info@kirkandco.ca
© 2011 Kirk & Co. Consulting Ltd.