BC Hydro’s Site C hydroelectric project

This article deals with the disagreement between BC Hydro and BC’s Aboriginals concerning the development of the Site C hydroelectric megaproject. According to BC Hydro, this proposal has a huge potential and reducing pollution will benefit the area. However, they have not considered the external factors that might act as a barrier to their project.

BC Hydro is thinking from a business point of view and is not considering the socio-cultural limitations. First Nations strongly disapproves the idea because of its destructive impact. As part of the community, their duty is to protect the farmlands and wildlife habitat of their ancestral.  Flooding the Peace River Valley would have an adverse effect on the Aboriginals’ lifestyle. In addition, the area is used for ceremonial purposes, which, i believe, should be kept intact since it has a sacred value to the Aboriginals.

Political factors can also affect BC Hydro’s business activity. Destroying this area will be an unethical decision, and this is why one of their chiefs believe that the government will vote in their favour.

When planning a business model, BC Hydro should consider all stakeholders involved. In this case, I feel that the benefits to Aboriginals outweighs those of constructing a hydropower dam. As the need for new energy is not urgent, Aboriginals tried their best to propose smaller, less adverse projects such as solar and wing geothermal power. An alternative that i would propose could also be biomass gasifiers or pico-hydros.

Image source: https://www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/site_c.html