Site C cannot be replaced with other renewables
I don’t believe it! Now we have the environmentalists wanting to cancel the cleanest and most abundant energy on the planet. (Cancel site C dam — then go solar)
I suggest that Peter Nix, a “carbon buster”, knows not of what he speaks, by calling on the Horgan government to cancel Site C.
To suggest that solar can equal the power output of the Site C is…is…well, not even worth debating. Simply put, it can’t.
Nix then goes on to suggest “geothermal”, which he is as equally as knowledgeable about. There is absolutely no way that this type of energy, combined with solar, could any way come near the Site C output. Period.
I have had the tour of the geothermal electric producing plants in California near the Salton Sea area. These plants are situated in this area for good reason. The porous rock, that holds the super heated water, is deep in the earth on the brim of the San Andreas Fault. Exactly where in B.C. would Nix find such an area? Even at these ideal conditions, it is necessary to drill into the earth to a staggering 1.6 miles to reach the porous rock.
Let me assure you, geothermal plants are very limited in output power and by no means inexpensive to operate.
The superheated water discharge goes through a centrifuge before entering the turbines, because it is loaded with silica sand. This sand erodes the hell out of the titanium liner of the pipes, and the sand comes up at such a rate that it must be hauled away in semi truckloads.
The sand is an environmental hazard to human health if caught up in the wind, and therefore must be stored in government approved enclosure.
The fact is, like it or not, Site C is a hell of a powerful renewable energy supply source. Stay with it, as B.C. will need all this clean energy, if not now, it will in the future.
John Walker
Cobble Hill