B.C. Premier David Eby said B.C. needs a "lot more juice" as his government announced nine new wind-energy projects worth billions, expected to power half a million homes by no later than 2031.

But government's decision to exempt the projects from environmental assessment has also drawn criticism from what some might consider an unusual source. 

Eby framed Monday's (Dec. 9) announcement as a response to other jurisdictions said to be retreating from clean energy projects.

He was joined by several cabinet ministers and BC Hydro's president and chief executive officer Chris O'Riley in announcing the winner's of BC Hydro's first competitive call for power in 15 years. The event was held at BC Hydro headquarters in Vancouver. 

"The political message is the message to all British Columbians, that our government will not let us get left behind in a low carbon future," he said. "We are going to take all the steps we can to secure that advantage, including using our clean electricity, to ensure that we are a world leader in the inevitable zero-carbon future we are moving towards." 

He also promised that the projects 鈥� four in northern B.C., four in southern B.C. and one Vancouver Island 鈥� represent a new approach toward permitting that will "protect our environment, but also protect our prosperity" as none of the nine projects will undergo environmental assessments. 

"Going forward, you will see more and more permitting reform going forward, not less," he said. "This is the first announcement in a series of how we are going to do this work and for projects like this, getting them built, getting them up and in the ground, will protect our environment." 

Conservative MLA David Williams (Salmon Arm-Shuswap), his party's critic for BC Hydro and electricity self-sufficiency, questioned this decision. 

"It is hypocritical to exempt (environmental) assessments to further an agenda," he wrote on social media. "Clean energy and self-sufficiency is important but at what cost? Have alternatives been explored? In addition, there are many worthy projects that our economy depends on. Are they going to have exemptions?"

The call issued in April 2024 requested proposals for 3,000 gigawatt hours per year as part of a larger plan to help meet provincial energy needs. Forecasts predict a 15-per-cent increase in power demand between now and 2030. Factors behind the riding demand include population growth; increased industrial development, including mining; growth in zero-emission vehicles; rising use of fuel pumps in private residences; and more people working from home.

Ultimately, BC Hydro received 21 proposals totalling more than 9,000 GWh/year with the winning nine projects said to produce 5,000 GWh/year in boosting production by about eight per cent 鈥� three per cent higher than the original call. 

O'Riley said BC Hydro will issue additional calls for power in the future, without revealing details about the specific timing and nature of those calls.

"We expect to conduct regular competitive calls for power about every two years based on demand.  I would expect there to be a continued need for renewable energy sources," he said. "As the premier says, we're agnostic about the particular source of that 鈥� just that it meets the renewable and clean requirements." 

The nine projects are said to represent anywhere between $4 and $6 billion in private sector investment. About half of this amount is linked to First Nations, who hold majority stakes in eight of the nine projects. First Nations hold 49 per cent ownership in the ninth one.

B.C.'s Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix noted the historic nature of these ownership structures in framing these projects as part and parcel of economic reconciliation. 

Dix also justified the lack of environmental assessments with the need to flight climate change. 

"We need urgent action on climate change -- this is urgent action on climate change," he said. "Clean energy projects built in partnership with the First Nations are in fact environmental projects," he added. 

RELATED: B.C. Hydro calls for new energy sources for the first time in 15 years

Monday's announcement comes amidst concerns about the supply and affordability of electricity, with B.C. said to have missed out on projects, something Eby acknowledged when he said that demand from those opportunities had exceeded supply.

"The more electricity we can generate, the more we are going to see these major industrial customers coming to British Columbia."

Energy Futures Institute chaired by former B.C. Liberal environment minister Barry Penner last week raised concerns about B.C.'s power supply following the release of documents that show B.C. spent almost $1.4 billion in the 2024 fiscal year to import 13,600 GWh of electricity 鈥� more than two and a half times the amount of power the Site C dam is expected to produce in a year with average water flows.

鈥淲e have known for some time that BC Hydro has been forced to import significant amounts of electricity to help keep our lights on, but this is the first time it鈥檚 reached almost 25 per cent of our total needs and the first time this large price tag has been revealed,鈥� Penner said in warning of rising prices for consumers given future energy needs. 

鈥淏.C needs to recalibrate our electrification targets, as it takes time to significantly increase made-in-B.C. electricity supply,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淥therwise, British Columbians may end up paying the price.鈥�

Speakers could not give definitive details about the effects of the new projects on power rates, but argued that the electricity coming from those projects would be cheaper than the energy produced during the last call for power.

"In fact, when adjusted for today's dollars, the average price of a successful project in this call is more than 40 per cent lower than it was in the last call," Dix said. 

O'Riley also tried to ease concerns about supply in noting that this and future calls for power coupled with Site C coming online would coincide with additional investments in energy efficiency, renewing existing energy agreements as well as "exploring the use of utility scale batteries" to help better store energy from wind and solar.