British Columbia has Canada’s greatest potential for generating electricity from geothermal sources. Our coast ranks among the world’s top five regions for potential wave-generated electricity. We have enough potential wind energy to more than match the proposed Site C dam. We also have some of the world’s greatest potential for run-of-river hydro.

These are just four potential sources of clean electricity especially suited to our climate and geography.  And all of them offer tremendous potential for future generations.

Countries of central and northern Europe have decades of experience with wind-generated electricity. Almost every river in the European Alps hosts a run-of-river operation. Iceland gets most of its electricity and heat from geothermal sources. Britain, Denmark, Portugal, Australia, the U.S. and even Nova Scotia are developing electricity from the ocean.

B.C. has more potential for clean electricity than any one of those places. So where does that leave us?

We’ve become a net importer of electricity in recent years, and in the case of BC Hydro, a major importer.  We’re importing as much as 15 per cent of our electricity and most of it comes from coal-fired plants in Alberta and the U.S., among the world’s worst sources of greenhouse gases.

Much of British Columbia’s electricity infrastructure is also badly in need of maintenance or facing the end of its useful lifespan. We’ve basically squandered the legacy we received from past generations, and unless something changes, our legacy to future generations will be a dwindling supply of electricity from dirty sources that come at great cost to our finances, environment and energy security.

If British Columbia’s incredible green energy potential was unlocked, not only could we fully supply our domestic electricity needs, we could also help neighbouring provinces and states by supplying them with the clean, renewable electricity they badly need. 

We have the potential to create an incredible legacy of sustainable living here in British Columbia.  We can also have the potential to make a major contribution to the continent-wide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in the process, generate substantial revenues for the people of this province.  This is a legacy we owe to future generations.

Quebec and Manitoba are already generating considerable revenue for the people of their provinces by exporting renewable energy to neighbouring provinces and states — and helping reduce dependence on coal-fired and gas-fired electricity in these jurisdictions.

We explored British Columbia’s immense potential for generating renewable green energy, and the substantial revenue that could be generated for the people, in our March 2010 research report entitled “A Triple Legacy for Future Generations” and our report provides a wealth of information on the subject.

British Columbia’s untapped green energy resources offer us with an amazing opportunity to leave what we have dubbed "a triple legacy for future generations"; namely, a secure supply of renewable electricity to meet domestic needs and export opportunities, a substantial reduction in the impacts of global climate change, and the potential to eliminate B.C.’s provincial debt and eventually even replace the revenue currently raised through the HST.

Click here to find out why BC Hydro can’t develop the green energy B.C. needs