Jeff CunhaJournalist / Anchor
Published Thursday, August 1, 2024 5:44PM PDTLast Updated Thursday, August 1, 2024 6:09PM PDT
Site C nears completion, reservoir filling to begin
Site C nears completion, reservoir filling to begin
Site C nears completion, reservoir filling to begin later this month
FORT ST. JOHN — After nearly nine years of construction the biggest infrastructure project in B.C.’s history is nearing completion.
Filling of the Site C reservoir is slated to begin at end of the month with the dam generating power by December. Once operational, over 5000 gigawatt hours of energy will be added to the grid every year.
“Energy to supply 450,000 homes in a year or energize 1.7 million electric vehicles,” according to Site C Community Relations Manager Bob Gammer.
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The project navigated several political and construction headwinds since breaking ground in the summer of 2015.
Three years ago, foundational problems at the site southwest of Fort St. John threatened to put an end to the project.
“We drove 96 piles into the ground, further into the ground so that it was down below the level of this betting plain, and so that got us this stability so that this facility is not going to be moving,” said Gammer in an interview with CJDC-TV. “Even a large earthquake, this project can withstand that and it will continue to operate for at least the next 100 years.”
The issues coupled with challenges from the pandemic seeing the price of the project almost double, and were slated at 8.4 billion in 2014. Today, the final cost is coming in at 16 billion dollars and a year behind schedule.
“We need Site C to take up that new load, that new customer demand, so that way we can continue to operate as we expect,” said Gammer.
The construction brought over 6000 jobs into the region with 1000 of the positions filled locally.
The site will be filled using water from the Williston Reservoir near Hudson’s Hope with BC Hydro saying water levels will continue to rise over the course of four months, widening the Peace River by three to four times.
Protecting Wildlife:
Wildlife protection measures, under the obligation of the provincial government, continue to be undertaken.
BC Hydro establishing a Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Monitoring and Follow-up Program with a permanent fish passage facility to catch, track, and transport different species including bull trout, who can’t make it upstream due to the current produced by the dam.
BC Hydro says they aim to mitigate the impact to other wildfire including bears, relocating them to new habitats—a move that garnered backlash from advocacy groups.
How the dam produces energy:
Site C is connected to the Peace Canyon Generating Station.
Once filled, the kinetic energy that is produced as water flows through the dam will turn a turbine with a generator converting the force into energy.
Site C will produce 35 per cent of the W.A.C Bennett dam with a reservoir only five per cent of the size, all together producing 40 per cent of BC Hydro’s power.
Backlash from First Nations:
In 2018, the West Moberly First Nation filed a civil claim against the provincial government and BC Hydro, losing an injunction order that same year.
A partial settlement was reached in 2022 that included a one-time and on-going payments from the energy company, contracting opportunities and land agreements, according to a provincial release.
Boat launches around the site will be closed while the reservoir is filled, and for at least one year after or until deemed safe, according to BC Hydro. The Halfway River launch will be permanently closed on August 12th, with a new one set to open next year east of the current location.