[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/power-providers.jpg” image_width=”1323″ image_height=”1691″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″]
When British Columbians plug in an electrical appliance or turn on a light switch, it’s easy to forget that there are thousands of people working every day – from shop floors to executive suites – to deliver electricity. Here are some of the committed individuals who bring us the power – to connect online, to cook dinner for our families and to enjoy the many other everyday luxuries that reliable electricity affords.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider style=”single_dotted” divider_width=”full_width” margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”5″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
JENNY LIU
Program Manager, Transmission Maintenance & Program Capital Delivery, BC Hydro[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]With 18,000 kilometres of transmission lines and underwater cables – and 286 transmission substations – BC Hydro needs to make sure that every element of the system is functioning optimally to deliver power across mountains and valleys to communities provincewide.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/jennyL-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]People like Jenny Liu, a program manager who works with a team focused on transmission maintenance programs, are essential to achieving this goal.
“We connect with the lines and stations groups to make sure they’ve completed all the maintenance and inspections work outlined in the work plan and any needed equipment repairs,” she says. “Our focus is safety and reliability; we make sure that all of our equipment is operating properly so that we can deliver reliable power.”
Liu is also dedicated to energy conservation. She worked in a co-op position with BC Hydro during her fourth year as a mechanical engineering student to help identify buildings that would benefit from specific Power Smart programs and to conduct on-site inspections of lighting and mechanical systems.
She says that British Columbians are leaders in the way they use energy. “The BC Hydro Power Smart program has done a great job of creating awareness and incentives for people to conserve.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
LANDON ALDRIDGE
Principal and Director of Operations, Terratek Energy Solutions Inc.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Landon Aldridge and co-founder Scott Fleenor launched Terratek Energy Solutions eight years ago with a focus on providing solar systems to the off-grid market, often remote cabins.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/landonA-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]Since then, Courtenay, B.C.-based Terratek has evolved. It now designs, supplies and installs a wide range of renewable energy systems for client groups that include homeowners, businesses, developers, schools and municipalities.
“As a small business owner, I’m involved in all stages of the process: I consult with the client to see what they want to accomplish, design the system and provide a proposal, and then supply and install the components.”
Aldridge also ensures that the installed system complies with the net metering programs of provincial utilities BC Hydro and Fortis BC. These programs allow utility customers to use other forms of power production such as solar and tie into the conventional utility grid if needed to supplement their energy needs.
“Many of our clients are looking for energy security,” he says. “There can be a lot of volatility in rates from traditional energy sources, but with something like solar energy, you’re looking at a flat rate over the lifetime of the system, which can be upwards of 35 years.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
DON GAMBLE
Principal and Environmental Planner, Golder Associates[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″]With 25 years’ experience in natural resources management, Don Gamble helps BC Hydro bring reliable electricity to its customers by providing solutions to a diverse range of environmental planning and geotechnical engineering services throughout the definition, design and construction phases of its generation and transmission projects.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/donG-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]“Working collaboratively with BC Hydro’s Engineering and Aboriginal Relations & Negotiations teams, and public stakeholders and community relations teams, Golder Associates Ltd.’s services enable BC Hydro to obtain regulatory approvals for its projects,” he explains.
For example, while preparing the Environmental Assessment Certificate Application for the Interior to Lower Mainland Transmission Project, Gamble and his Golder Associates colleague Sean Weston supported BC Hydro’s decisions to define a preferred alignment in the Fraser Canyon to avoid a known Spotted Owl nest location within a Wildlife Habitat Area. The effort also avoided First Nations reserves and advocated the construction of clear-span bridge crossings on fish-bearing watercourses. As well, after discovering a new population of Oregon Spotted Frogs in a large wetland in the Mission area, a decision was made to locate the new transmission tower elsewhere.
While decisions that balance project needs and environmental footprints are ultimately made by regulatory agencies, people like Gamble help address stakeholder and environmental needs and minimize the impacts of bringing power to British Columbians.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
CHARLES REID
President and CEO, BC Hydro[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″]BC Hydro President and CEO Charles Reid puts his considerable expertise in finance and management to work in his position at the helm of BC Hydro.
A Certified General Accountant and a Chartered Director who joined BC Hydro in 2008 and served as its Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Reid was appointed BC Hydro’s President and CEO in July 2012.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/charlesR-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]Focused on meeting electricity demands created by population growth, expanding industry and changing lifestyles, BC Hydro will invest more than $2 billion a year for the next five years to build transmission lines, upgrade generation stations, renew substations, and much more. “The decisions we are making to upgrade and reinvest in our system are setting the stage for us to be able to reliably power our province – and all of our households – for generations to come.”
Reid says encouraging energy conservation is an important part of BC Hydro’s strategy. For example, he says, “Today, BC Hydro’s new MyHydro online account portal is enabling customers to discover ways to save energy and money by viewing and tracking their household energy use.”
In the future, he adds, “generation will be a two-way street,” with households able to generate electricity using solar panels, for example, and sell energy back to the grid.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
DON PETTIT
Co-Founder, Peace Energy Cooperative[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Ten years ago, a small group of Dawson Creek entrepreneurs recognized the region’s enormous wind energy potential.
“We knew it wouldn’t be long before somebody would want to tap into this resource,” says Don Pettit, a co-founder of Peace Energy Cooperative, who was motivated to see “at least some part of this regional resource co-operatively and locally owned.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/donP-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]The co-op’s first acquisition was a land lease on nearby Bear Mountain Ridge. “We had developers knocking on our doors, but we took our time and selected a B.C. developer – Aeolis Wind Power Corporation – that shared our values in site development and understood the value the co-operative brought to the project.”
A photographer by trade, Pettit has published three books celebrating the unique beauty of the Peace River region. He is proud that the co-op’s efforts helped ensure Bear Mountain continues to be a popular recreational area, and that the wind park supports BC Hydro service in Dawson Creek and the surrounding region.
“I think it’s important for people to know the source of their electricity and understand why that matters,” he says. ”It also brings a new level of conscientiousness about energy use.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
RICK HOPP
President and CEO, Run of River Power Inc.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]To be successful in the run-of-river power sector, you have to wear at least three hats, says Rick Hopp, CEO of Run of River Power.
“In addition to being a business person, you have to be a diplomat and an educator,” says Hopp, who started out in “renewables” 25 years ago developing natural gas co-generation projects and landfill-to-energy facilities in Europe.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/rickH-400×224.jpg” image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]At Run of River Power, Hopp’s job involves raising capital and addressing permitting issues, undertaking biological and water studies and negotiating with others who may be impacted by a project, including First Nations, he says.
Unlike traditional hydropower generation, which uses dams to control water flow, run-of-river power production is subject to seasonal river flows. In a typical project, creek water is diverted into penstock pipes leading to lower-elevation turbines. The water is then redirected back into the stream, which is constantly monitored to maintain the surrounding ecosystem.
Run of River’s Brandywine Creek project is currently feeding 7.6 megawatts of power into the grid, enough to supply 4,000 homes. The company is also building the larger 25-megawatt Skookum Creek Power project east of Squamish, which will supply enough electricity to power 18,000 homes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
GREG MANZULENKO
Plant Manager, Island Generation[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″]Thanks to Island Generation – a natural gas-fired, “combined-cycle” power station – about 10 per cent of Vancouver Island’s electricity is produced from natural gas. The plant yields 275 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 60,000 homes, says plant manager Greg Manzulenko, a man who claims to have “gone from the tractor to the reactor” when he turned away from his farming roots and set out on the path to becoming a power engineer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″ src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/gregM-400×224.jpg”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]After spending the first part of his career developing and maintaining power generation facilities at pulp and paper operations in Alberta, Manzulenko took the helm at Island Generation with two goals in mind: efficiently producing low-cost power, and being a good neighbour to the community of Campbell River.
In addition to managing day-to-day operations, Manzulenko deals with budgets, maintenance operations, the planning and implementation of capital projects, safety and environmental issues, liaises with the surrounding community; and addresses issues big and small, including power outages.
“A lot of it is just dealing with people; there’s always someone at the door asking a question,” he says, adding that gas-fired plants have environmental advantages because “you get a lot of horsepower for the amount of fuel going in.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
CHAD BENTLEY
General Manager, First Resources Impact Ventures[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Chad Bentley is bringing power to the people – British Columbia’s Aboriginal people, that is.
After 21 years stringing wires, the long-time lineman has become the General Manager of First Resources Impact Ventures. The first Aboriginal-owned transmission line contracting company in Canada, the firm was created to empower Canada’s Aboriginal people through participation in the transmission line industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″ src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/chadB-400×224.jpg”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”30″]“We have a lot to do in terms of training, development and building capacity, but in five years we hope to be bidding competitively on projects throughout Western Canada,” he says.
Transmission lines, which move electricity from generating stations to distribution substations where it’s transformed to lower voltages and sent to homes and industrial customers, are crucial to electricity distribution. B.C.’s vast network includes 18,286 kilometres of transmission lines, 55,000 kilometres of distribution lines, 300 substations, approximately one million utility poles and 325,000 individual transformers.
Bentley, whose dad was also a lineman, and who has two brothers still working the towers, says the new venture will not only help better connect the grid, but also promote economic development in Aboriginal communities affected by transmission line construction. “Native peoples should benefit from economic developments impacting their communities.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]
BRENT ROGERS
Plant Manager, Armstrong Wood Waste Co-Generation[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]Brent Rogers is personally motivated to minimize emissions coming from the biomass power station he manages for Tolko. The 50-year-old triathlete appreciates clean air, perhaps even more than most people, especially when he trains for events like the Kelowna Apple Triathlon.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image image_width=”800″ image_height=”1940″ crop=”false” lightbox=”false” frame_style=”simple” target=”_self” caption_location=”inside-image” align=”left” margin_bottom=”10″ src=”http://energyexchange.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/chadB-400×224.jpg”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]The Armstrong Wood Waste Co-Generation plant turns some 200,000 dry tonnes of wood waste into 20 megawatts of power annually, 18 of which are fed directly into the grid, enough to power about 15,000 homes, explains Rogers.
An electrostatic precipitator scrubs the plant’s particulate emissions, and the resulting ash is a useful fertilizer ingredient. “In the old days, all that waste would have been burned, so this facility significantly reduces what goes into the atmosphere.”
According to Natural Resources Canada, “bioenergy” currently accounts for approximately 6 per cent of Canada’s total energy supply. While biomass fuel feedstock is abundant, accessing it cost effectively can be challenging. “In order to make economic sense, these facilities need to be near a fuel source,” says Rogers, noting that trucking feedstock over great distances is typically cost-prohibitive. [mk_font_icons icon=”icon-stop” size=”small” padding_horizental=”4″ padding_vertical=”4″ circle=”false” align=”none”][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″ el_class=”Story-Author”]By Lori Bamber and Ian MacNeill[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]