The province, BC Hydro and a private energy company have inked a deal to save a power plant in Williams Lake that runs on waste wood.
The Atlantic Power facility generates enough electricity to power about 50,000 homes by burning biomass and is responsible for about 40 full-time jobs. It’s also the single biggest taxpayer to the City of Williams Lake, responsible for about $1.7 million in city coffers every year.
Atlantic Power gave notice last February that it was going to pull out of the community, citing an inability to remain profitable under its current contract with BC Hydro due to a lack of cost-effective local fibre.
On Friday, BC Hydro said it had worked out a solution with the company, and that Atlantic Power had rescinded its termination notice for its power purchase agreement with BC Hydro.
“The Province and BC Hydro have worked diligently and closely with Atlantic Power over the past many months to address these (fibre) challenges,” BC Hydro said in a media release.
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“Through this collaborative work, Atlantic Power has been provided with a number of recommendations for optimizing their operations such as for sourcing and managing cost-effective fuel.”
BC Hydro said Atlantic Power will continue to operate the power plant for the remaining term of its purchase agreement, which runs until 2029.
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