this is interesting:
The Joint Review Panel Report was clear: while Site C would provide relatively low-cost energy that BC may need at some point in the future, BC Hydro has not proven that need is imminent, there are a number of uncertainties about BC Hydros assessment of the projects costs and need that should be better understood before any decision is made, and other clean energy sources with less devastating impacts could potentially meet BCs future energy demands, but for the provincial policy constraints that prevent BC Hydro from exploring those options.
from here:
http://wcel.org/resources/environmental-law-alert/site-c-dam-best-option-new-energy-bc-doesn%E2%80%99t-need
the whole thing is a great read.
as well, i also find the first comment very insightful:
MartinC 7 months ago
Geothermal requires exploration, research and engineering. How long will that take? In the interim if BC requires more firm power, a gas fired power plant can be built in 1/2 the time and for 1/4 the capital cost of Site C. Yes GHG's are produced, but Canada has no problem exporting coal, oil or LNG. Unless our fossil fuels remain in the ground, we are kidding ourselves if we think we are helping the environment by not burning our fuels here so that others can burn them elsewhere instead. Natural gas burned domestically does not have to be liquefied, which is energy intensive. The Petronas plant in Rupert will require 1,100 MW, to be produced locally with 30% efficient simple cycle gas turbines. NOx emissions will be 3,400 tonnes/yr. If Hydro built a 50% efficient combined cycle gas turbine power plant instead of Site C (880 MW, 6,500 GWh/yr like Calgary's), CO2 would be 40% less than Petronas and NOx only 400 tonnes/yr. In 20 years other technology such as fusion, thorium reactors (Google "Terrestrial Energy") or fuel cells may take over to provide clean firm power. No need to build Site C which needs 100 years to pay off to justify its $8 billion capital expense
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer