GREATER VICTORIA CHAMBER
Join Now
Member Login
  • Membership
    • Why Join?
    • Job Board
    • Member to Member Offers
    • Benefits, Discounts & Savings >
      • Chamber Store
    • Chamber Local
    • 1863 Impact Award
    • Questions & Answers
    • Join Now
    • Member Login
  • Member Directory
  • Events
    • Signature Events >
      • Annual Auction
      • Business Awards >
        • 2023 Business Awards
      • Picnic in the Park
      • Business Hall of Fame
      • Business Leaders Series
    • Event Calendar >
      • Chamber Events
      • Community Events
    • Small Business Month
    • Event Photos 2023
    • Sponsorship
  • News & Advocacy
    • BizNews Articles
    • Advocacy / Wins for Business >
      • Advocacy Wins
      • Business Property Taxes
      • Advocacy Priorities
    • Chamber Chats
    • In the News >
      • Published Op-Eds
      • Media Releases
    • Non-market housing
    • Find and keep workers
    • Business Matters Magazine
    • COVID-19
  • The Chamber 1863
    • 1863-Indigenous
    • 1863-Early Chamber
    • 1863-History Events
    • 1863-Booms and Busts
    • 1863-Members & Communities
    • 1863-Women, people and organizations
    • 1863-Committees
    • 1863-Chairs and Chair Businesses
  • About Us
    • Emerge >
      • Emerge Events
      • Emerge Mentorship
      • Emerge Connect
    • Staff Directory
    • Board & Governance >
      • Governors
      • By-Laws, Plans & Reports
      • Committees
    • Chamber History
    • Partners & Sponsors
    • About Victoria >
      • Starting a Business
      • Moving Here
      • Visiting Victoria, BC
    • Contact Us

Published Op-Eds

Sustainable future requires green sources of energy

6/20/2023

0 Comments

 
Bruce Williams is CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
I’m recently back in Greater Victoria following a vacation to Europe and a visit with Amanda’s family. It’s been a few years since we were there, and I was impressed by the massive scale of clean energy projects as we flew over the continent. The wind turbine farms cover miles of pastoral landscapes that were once home to medieval waterwheels and grain mills. Some of these ancient power generating sites still exist as tourist attractions and reminders of the past. But today’s massive, ultramodern turbines are definitely symbols of our ongoing shift to a cleaner energy future.

In British Columbia, where almost all of our power in our province is generated by water, BC Hydro is part of our culture. Many BC small towns were built around hydroelectric stations. Their reservoirs have become recreational areas beloved by boaters and anglers. On Vancouver Island, BC Hydro has four hydroelectric systems with six generating systems built between 1911 and 1971. The facilities produce about 471 megawatts, or about four percent of the total energy produced by BC Hydro.

Of course, our world is not the same as it was leading up to the 1970s. The demand for electrical power to replace fossil fuels gets stronger every day. We see a good example of this in the rapid adoption of electric vehicles — almost 20 percent of passenger vehicles sold last year were electric. Part of the reason for their popularity can be linked to incentives offered by the federal government as well as Clean BC and the provincial government. The province had been offering a $350 rebate for EV chargers, but the program was so well received it has recently run out of funding. It makes you wonder how British Columbia plans to meet the growing pressure on our electrical grid.

To find out, and to learn more about the future of clean energy, The Chamber is hosting BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Riley at our June 28 Business Leaders Luncheon. These events are always high value, with great opportunities to share a table with like-minded business and community leaders. The conversations are illuminating and leave attendees inspired to get back to building their business and improving our community for everyone.

BC Hydro has been doing great at educating the public on energy conservation and methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their ongoing work is fascinating as they take a leadership role in generating and delivering electricity in environmentally and socially responsible ways.
Hydropower produces energy that does not pollute the air and has negligible greenhouse gas emissions — as low or lower than wind power. Hydropower converts 90% of energy to electricity. That compares to about 60% for the most efficient fossil fuel power plants.

Canada has the potential to double the amount of hydropower it currently produces. Doing so will be necessary to make sure there is enough energy to supply the demand from the public and private sector.

Governments, public transit and commercial transportation are transitioning to electric vehicle fleets. Individuals and business owners are choosing electric options to cut back on emissions. And there is an insatiable thirst for energy to power the Internet, cryptocurrencies and the myriad devices we have all come to rely on.

The world is changing before our eyes — it’s always electrifying to see it change for the better.

The column originally appeared in the June edition of the Business Examiner.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All
    Business Examiner
    Times Colonist


    Policy & Wins for Business

    News for Members

    In the Media

    RSS Feed

Picture
​Copyright © 2021 Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.  All rights reserved. 
​#100 – 852 Fort St., Victoria, BC V8W 1H8, Canada   |   Phone: (250) 383-7191 

chamber@victoriachamber.ca   |  Site Map
Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Notice a typo or broken link? Please let us know so we can fix it ASAP. Email communications@victoriachamber.ca
  • Membership
    • Why Join?
    • Job Board
    • Member to Member Offers
    • Benefits, Discounts & Savings >
      • Chamber Store
    • Chamber Local
    • 1863 Impact Award
    • Questions & Answers
    • Join Now
    • Member Login
  • Member Directory
  • Events
    • Signature Events >
      • Annual Auction
      • Business Awards >
        • 2023 Business Awards
      • Picnic in the Park
      • Business Hall of Fame
      • Business Leaders Series
    • Event Calendar >
      • Chamber Events
      • Community Events
    • Small Business Month
    • Event Photos 2023
    • Sponsorship
  • News & Advocacy
    • BizNews Articles
    • Advocacy / Wins for Business >
      • Advocacy Wins
      • Business Property Taxes
      • Advocacy Priorities
    • Chamber Chats
    • In the News >
      • Published Op-Eds
      • Media Releases
    • Non-market housing
    • Find and keep workers
    • Business Matters Magazine
    • COVID-19
  • The Chamber 1863
    • 1863-Indigenous
    • 1863-Early Chamber
    • 1863-History Events
    • 1863-Booms and Busts
    • 1863-Members & Communities
    • 1863-Women, people and organizations
    • 1863-Committees
    • 1863-Chairs and Chair Businesses
  • About Us
    • Emerge >
      • Emerge Events
      • Emerge Mentorship
      • Emerge Connect
    • Staff Directory
    • Board & Governance >
      • Governors
      • By-Laws, Plans & Reports
      • Committees
    • Chamber History
    • Partners & Sponsors
    • About Victoria >
      • Starting a Business
      • Moving Here
      • Visiting Victoria, BC
    • Contact Us