Dear editor,
It's encouraging to see wind energy projects finally making inroads in B.C.
The green, renewable energy that wind farms provide is a welcome addition to the hydro energy we've long enjoyed in this province.
Interestingly, B.C.'s incredible hydro resources have actually slowed the development of B.C.'s equally incredible wind energy resources: B.C. was the very last province in Canada to tap into wind energy.
However, unlike other parts of the country where wind farms are often located near to where people live, in B.C. the best wind energy resources tend to be located far away from populated areas, but still relatively close to existing transmission lines.
The best thing about developing B.C.'s wind energy resources, and run-of-river projects, too, is the fact that they are typically located in places that have been logged and mined extensively over the past century. That gives us an opportunity to fix the environmental damage that was done in previous decades when environmental standards were not as high as they are today.
So no matter how you look at it, developing B.C.'s green energy resources is a huge environmental win for B.C. because it prepares us for the future while building on the present and repairing the past.
Lesley Bates,
Courtenay