[!-- /dateline --]Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell likes to consider his government one of the most progressive and forward-thinking in the country. He has ambitious plans to make British Columbians the most literate and healthiest people on the continent. And one of his great goals is to lead the world, no less, in sustainable environmental management, which includes having the best air and water quality anywhere.[/p] But talk is cheap. And the fact that Mr. Campbell's government is considering the approval of two coal-fired power plants recently awarded long-term contracts by B.C. Hydro shows just how silly and hollow some of the Premier's ambitions truly are.[/p] B.C. is awash in coal and exports most of it to China, which uses it to heat its homes and pollute the world. Up to now, B.C. has avoided the temptation to use it, opting instead for cleaner, renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power.[/p] With an energy crunch on the horizon, however, the province appears ready to succumb to coal's lure, just as the catastrophic effects of climate change are beginning to be truly understood.[/p] One of the two coal plants would be near Princeton, an unpretentious former gold-rush mining town of about 2,800, located 300 kilometres east of here. The other, much larger plant would be built at Tumbler Ridge, a small, rugged mining community in northeastern B.C.[/p] There are three types of technology used to turn coal into energy. The worst for the environment is pulverized combustion, which works by grinding coal into a powder which is then burned to create steam that spins a turbine. [/p] A second is fluidized combustion, where coal granules are suspended in hot air and often mixed with limestone.[/p] The coal-burning technology getting most of the attention these days is gasification, which converts the coal into a synthetic gas that is burned like natural gas to create electricity. While the most expensive of the three technologies, it is the cleanest and least harmful to the environment — by a long shot.[/p] Gasification produces nearly zero emissions of nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter of mercury. Gasification also makes it easier to capture greenhouse gases that are now being injected underground to save the environment.[/p] The Princeton and Tumbler Ridge plants, however, would be using fluidized combustion technology, which, while not the worst option available, is still one capable of producing a horrible chemical stew that would be spewed into the air.[/p] Greenhouse gases from the electricity sector in B.C. have the potential to double if the two plants go ahead. According to the Sierra Club of Canada, it would be the equivalent of adding up to 300,000 new cars on the road each year for the next 10 years.[/p] B.C. Hydro signed 30-year contracts with Compliance Energy Corp. for the proposed 56-megawatt plant near Princeton, and AESWapiti Energy Corp. for a 184-megawatt plant at Tumbler Ridge. Both projects must now go through an environmental assessment process before final approval is granted.[/p] What is particularly disheartening about these plans is that they follow in the wake of the B.C. government's successful fight against the proposed Sumas II gas-fired plant in Washington state. The government had argued the plant would further pollute the already smog-drenched Fraser Valley.[/p] Yet, according to environmental organizations in B.C., the provincial government has approved standards for coal-fired plants in the province that would allow 70 times more nitrogen oxide, 260 times more sulphur dioxide and seven times more particulate matter than Sumas II.[/p] This we know: a coal-fired plant would never be considered for the heavily populated Lower Mainland. It would be political suicide for any government to even suggest it. But the government thinks it can get away with it in small, out-of-the-way towns that might need the jobs and revenue.[/p] While there may not be many people in Princeton and Tumbler Ridge, those aren't the only towns that would be affected by the coal-plant proposals. There are lots of people who live nearby the proposed Princeton plant, for instance; smart, savvy people, who are fully conscious of the environmental discrimination the government is guilty of here.[/p] Both Energy Minister Richard Neufeld and Environment Minister Barry Penner declined an opportunity to explain and defend the government's decision to entertain the coal-fired proposals. I'm not surprised.[/p] Given the public's growing disdain for political leaders who don't have the backbone to deal with the threat climate change poses, defending any proposal that further contributes to the problem is not an easy task.[/p] Especially when other environmentally friendly options are available.[/p] But here's the thing about these coal-fired plants — it isn't just Princeton's or Tumbler Ridge's issue to deal with. It's all of ours.[/p] That includes everyone in Canada, because global warming, and anything that contributes to it, is a global concern.[/p] And anyone making bold promises to have the cleanest air in the world should know that.[/p]
