Monday, August 25, 2008

Natural Resources Canada: Government of Canada Invests in Renewable Energy in British Columbia

2008-08-20 11:00:00

Natural Resources Canada: Government of Canada Invests in Renewable Energy in British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(eMediaWorld - Aug. 20, 2008) - The Government of Canada is investing in renewable energy projects across Canada, thanks to investments in seven projects through the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced the first project, the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project near Harrison Lake, which will benefit from an investment of up to $35 million thanks to the Government of Canada.

"Our investment in the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project is another great example of how our government is delivering on its commitment to reducing emissions, increase the supply of clean, renewable energy for Canadians, and accelerate the development of a strong and competitive renewable energy industry," said Minister Lunn. "We need energy to power our economy, and we must have more clean energy to protect our health and our environment."

When it is complete, the Kwalsa Energy Project will have a total capacity of 90 megawatts from eight turbines operating on four waterways around Harrison Lake at Douglas, Fire, Stokke and Tipella Creeks. The peak electricity demands of more than 27,000 households can be met with that amount of clean electricity. The site is located about 90 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

The project is owned by Harrison Hydro Limited Partnership, which is in turn owned by Cloudworks Energy Inc., a British Columbia-based energy firm specializing in run-of-river hydro development.

John Johnson, a principal of Cloudworks Energy Inc., was pleased that the Harrison Hydro Limited Partnership qualified for funding under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power Initiative. "This federal program enables the Kwalsa Project to address not just the construction challenges related to building clean and renewable energy in the remote regions of this Province, but also to provide transmission grid access for the first time ever to our First Nations partners, the Douglas First Nation."

The Kwalsa Energy project has qualified for the one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program, payable for up to 10 years to ensure the electricity it generates can be delivered to consumers at competitive rates.

Businesses, municipalities, institutions and organizations are eligible to apply for funding under ecoENERGY for Renewable Power. The program provides about $1.48 billion to increase Canada's supply of clean electricity from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, low-impact hydro, geothermal, solar photovoltaic and ocean energy. It will encourage the production of up to 4,000 megawatts of new electricity from renewable energy sources-enough electricity to power about one million homes.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, has announced the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project near Harrison Lake, B.C. will receive an investment of up to $35 million thanks to the Government of Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media.

Meet the team at Cloudworks : http://www.cloudworksenergy.com/section.php?s=13

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