The proposed Site C dam in northeast B.C. has moved to the first stage of an environmental review, and the price tag has ballooned to almost $8 billion.
BC Hydro says an updated design for the dam shows the project would cost $7.9 billion for labour, equipment and materials, up from an estimated $6.6 billion cost in 2010. Much of the increase is due to an upgrade to the old design, according to BC Hydro spokesman Dave Conway.
"We've upgraded to meet current seismic safety and environmental guidelines," said Conway.
Despite the higher cost, the price of electricity the dam would produce would make Site C among the most cost-effective options available to meet B.C.'s future electricity needs, and it could operate for 100 years, according to a BC Hydro statement.
The dam would flood hundreds of hectares of land and is opposed by several First Nations and other residents in the Peace River region, however. Proponents say the dam would generate thousands of construction jobs in a region still suffering from the recession.
Hydro has submitted a project description report to federal and provincial environmental assessment agencies, and once the report is accepted the formal assessment of the giant project will begin.
from Western Investor July 2011
