It's time for feed-in tariffs in BC

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The article, First of its kind tidal energy project closer to reality in Campbell River, (Courier-Islander, April 4, 2009) reports that the BC government has awarded two million dollars to Canoe Pass Tidal Energy Corp. for its proposed tidal energy project in the narrow channel between Quadra and Maude Islands.

The money could be more strategically spent if there were more to it: require a real business plan from the proponent, provide a feed-in tarriff, and require BC sourcing of turbines.

I am keenly in favour of government support for emerging technologies, particularly with ocean energy - tides and waves. It was a recurring theme in Here be Dragons (Watershed Sentinel, June-July, 2008). This is one place that BC still has a chance to develop knowledge and technology which can be deployed and marketed globally. It's nearly a decade too late for BC to take any leadership with wind energy, and a century too late with small hydro. With the ocean, we still have a chance.

Various financial devices have been used to bridge the gap between the cheaper and mature technologies for electricity generation and the emerging technologies. The simplest, and quite possibly the best, are feed-in tarriffs. These subsidies kick in only when electricity is being generated and fed into the grid.

The Canoe Pass proposal has no immediate aspirations to sell electricity to BC Hydro. It certainly could, in the future, if it works, but without a feed-in tariff, there is no way it could deliver that power for anything close to the already pretty steep rates that BC Hydro is paying for new energy these days.

The problem with the Canoe Pass proposal, is that it is completely motivated by federal and now provincial grants and funding opportunities. It is entirely financed by public funds. There is no revenue stream anticipated in the business plans that I am aware of. And the problem with that is, when the start-up government funding runs out, the project is kaput.

So, Canoe Pass is a workable concept but it has the most unbusinesslike business proposal. The proponents should be told to come back with a real business plan. If a subsidy, a feed-in tarriff, is required, let's browbeat our government to implement one. It's long overdue.

One more thing: Canoe Pass proposes using turbines built by a Calgary company. If $2 million of BC citizens tax money is going into the project, should it not be one of the BC companies, such as Clean Current Technologies or Coastal Hydropower, whose turbines are deployed?