Site C's Impacts on the Environment

Lost Forever
The flooding and permanent mass destruction of a river valley ecosystem cannot be thought of in any way as being green or renewable. Once lost, the valley will be lost forever. With natural landscape and habitat destruction increasing at an alarming rate the world over, these spaces are invaluable and we must treat them with care.

What about Greenhouse Gases?
Hydroelectricity generation creates greenhouse gases, and therefore contributes to global warming. Site C’s reservoir is expected to release 140,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year. About 7% of global warming impact as a result of human activities comes from the worlds’ hydro reservoirs (V.L. St. Louis et al 2000).

Emissions from tropical reservoirs are the highest, some producing far more than a natural gas-fired combined cycle plant (Éric Duchemin, University of Quebec P.L. Spath & M.K. Mann 2000). In 1995, the Balbina Dam in Brazil was producing more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels would have released for the generation of an equal amount of energy (Fearnside 1995).

The most problematic of these greenhouse gases in terms of reservoirs is methane. According to the conversions adopted under the Kyoto Protocol, a single tonne of CH4 (methane) has the equivalent effect upon global warming as 21 tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide). The methane released by reservoirs comes primarily from the decomposition of vegetation--both the plant and soil matter of the flooded area--and to a surprising extent, from vegetation that grows on mud flats created during the seasons when the reservoir level is drawn down. In seasons when the reservoir is refilled, the vegetation is re-flooded and decomposes in the reservoir. The loss of trees within the reservoir area and along transmission lines also contributes, as these trees can no longer work to “absorb” greenhouse gases.

Machinery involved in the transport of massive amounts of soil which occurs during both construction and decommissioning add to the problem. Deeper in the reservoir, where the water lacks oxygen, the decomposition of organic material ends in CH4 rather than CO2. Since the deeper water is also colder, the methane remains nearer to the bottom. While a natural lake’s outlet removes water from near the surface, water from a reservoir is removed from relatively near the bottom, much like when the plug is pulled from a bathtub. When this methane-laden water exits from the turbines, most of this greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere. (This explanation is from Dr. Philip M. Fearnside, research scientist in the Ecology department at the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA).

Site C’s reservoir alone is expected to produce 15–30 tonnes of CO2 equivalent for every GWh of electricity it produces. This is BC Hydro’s "conservative" quote (BC Hydro Provincial Integrated Electricity Planning Committee, 2005). It is unknown how or if BC Hydro intends to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of Site C, but part of the BC Energy Plan calls for "zero net GHGs from all new electricity projects."

So we must publish the fact that far from being "clean" and "green," Site C will be "mean," becoming part of the problem instead of part of the solution.