Progress has been made in the long-anticipated run-of-the river hydro project that will generate not only a large amount of electricity for the power grid for Ahousaht First Nation, but also decades of revenue.
Trevor Jones, Ahous Business Corporation CEO, made the announcement in April.
“We’re excited,” said Jones. “The work has already started and we’ve been successful in negotiating the purchase of water rights.”
Ahousaht First Nation has signed agreements with Synex Energy and Sigma Engineering Ltd. under which Ahous Business Corporation will own and develop the Bulson Creek Hydro Project. The site is 20 km NE of Tofino.
Construction is expected to begin in within the next 18 months as work continues on studies, licenses and approvals.
The idea was first explored five years ago and was brought back to life just recently.
“The Ha’wiih of Ahousaht want to take a diversified approach to improve their economy,” said Jones.
If a run-of-the-river hydro project is properly designed and built it can be a green energy source.
With that in mind, engineers are at work designing a system that has minimal impact on the environment.
It is estimated that the entire project would take two to three years to build, creating 20 to 30 jobs.
When it’s complete there will likely be three to five long-term jobs to operate and maintain the system.
The long-term legacy will be the annual income generated through the sale of power for Ahousaht First Nation.
The Bulson Creek Small Hydro Project could generate up to 54 GWh annually with a capacity of 15MW. It’s a larger project than the 6.5MW China Creek Project owned by Upnit Power Corporation, which was said to be enough energy to power 6,000 homes.
Tla-o-qui-aht built a run-of-the-river project on Canoe Creek with a capacity of 5.5MW.
Because the Bulson Creek Hydro Project is large it draws better interest rates from lenders, Jones said.
“When you can produce more power your income will be higher and that is security for investors,” said Jones.
This new project will generate revenue for Ahousaht by selling power through a purchase agreement to BC Hydro.
BC Hydro has other improvements in the works for the region that will mean a more stable power supply to the west coast communities, who are at the end of the power grid.
Upgrading the substation at the Highway 4 Junction (Tofino/Ucluelet) will see it triple in size. Over the summer a new submarine hydro cable to Ahousaht will be laid.
Construction of the Bulson Creek Hydro Project is expected to begin in September 2016
