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About Site C

Site C will be a third dam and generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. The project will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity and about 5,100 gigawatt hours of energy each year to the province’s integrated electricity system.

Project Benefits

While the demand for electricity fluctuates year-to-year, we forecast that B.C.'s electricity needs will grow by almost 40 per cent over the next 20 years, driven by a projected population increase of more than one million residents and economic expansion. Growth in electrification and electric vehicles will further increase demand.

As extensive as our electricity supply is, and even with our ambitious conservation programs, it will not be enough to meet B.C.'s long-term electricity needs. That's why we're reinvesting in its existing assets and building the Site C Clean Energy Project. New resources are required to meet long-term electricity needs in B.C.

Our long-term energy planning process has found that Site C provides the best combination of financial, technical, environmental and economic development attributes compared to other electricity-generation options.

The Site C project will provide key benefits for B.C., including energy, dependable capacity and flexibility, regional economic development, job creation, and benefits communities and Indigenous Nations.

Project Attributes:

  • Site C will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity, and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity each year — enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes or 1.7 million electric vehicles per year in B.C.
  • It will be a source of clean and renewable electricity for more than 100 years.
  • Site C will have among the lowest GHG emissions, per gigawatt hour, compared to other resource options.
  • As the third project on the Peace River, Site C will rely on the existing Williston Reservoir for water storage. This means Site C will generate about 35 per cent of the energy produced at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, with only five per cent of the reservoir area.
  • Site C will be among the most cost-effective resource options for our ratepayers.
  • Site C will create about 13,000 person-years of direct employment during construction.
  • Construction also provides significant opportunities for businesses of all sizes.
  • Construction will contribute $3.2 billion to provincial GDP, including approximately $130 million to regional GDP.
  • During construction, Site C will result in a total of $40 million in tax revenues to local governments and, once in operation, $2 million in revenue from grants-in-lieu and school taxes.
  • Site C will be a source of affordable power to meet B.C.’s future electricity needs, and we expect to require the energy and capacity from Site C by about 2030.
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Additional Information