Lək̓ʷəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA B.C. – Today’s announcement of nine new wind power projects marks a significant step in addressing B.C.’s growing demand for clean energy. However, it leaves many important questions unanswered about the environmental impacts, workforce needs, and equity of these initiatives.
“We are pleased to see this issue being taken seriously, however the BC NDP’s rush to catch up on clean energy initiatives highlights years of slow progress,” said Jeremy Valeriote, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky. “While streamlining administrative processes is important, building out these projects should not come at the cost of environmental protections or set a precedent for sidestepping environmental oversight, particularly for the construction of high-impact transmission lines to bring clean energy to the power grid.
“Government must also ensure new clean energy goes to the highest and best use: to power British Columbians’ homes and businesses, stimulate innovation and sustainable economic development – not to extract oil or to liquefy gas for export overseas.
“With a shortage of skilled labour in the renewable energy sector, I am interested to see how the province is going to support the workforce that is needed to ensure the successful build-out of these wind projects. We would love to see this government go all in on clean energy and provide retraining programs and incentives for former oil and gas workers.
“We are very happy to see this government prioritize Indigenous reconciliation in this call for power and ensure First Nations equity ownership. Moving forward, we expect to see increased investment in community-scale renewable energy projects.”
-30-
Media contact
JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | jojo.beattie@leg.bc.ca
