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VANCOUVER – Today’s announcement that the Duke Point power project will head back to court is a major victory for industry, citizen and environmental groups who are attempting to block the power plant’s construction on Vancouver Island, says the David Suzuki Foundation.
The B.C. Court of Appeal’s three-judge panel overturned the court’s April decision that allowed the controversial Duke Point power plant to proceed. That means the groups will have another chance to go back to court and appeal the project.
“This is great news,” said Ian Bruce, a climate change specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “We’ve said all along that the Duke Point project is too expensive and completely unnecessary. There are simply too many environmental and economic costs to justify building this new power plant.”
Duke Point will release at least 800,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year it runs – about as much exhaust as 180,000 cars. It also exposes the province to volatile gas prices and higher costs to consumers. Mr. Bruce says the province can cost-effectively meet all new demand for electricity with renewable energy, like wind power, and by reducing demand through conservation and efficiency.
Now that the court has granted an appeal of the Duke Point decision, BC Hydro has a way out of the project without any financial or legal penalty. That’s because the agreement BC Hydro has with Pristine Power, the Calgary-based company looking to build the plant, has several clauses that allow for construction to be delayed no longer than the end of July.
The Suzuki Foundation is calling on Premier Gordon Campbell to urge BC Hydro to cancel this project, just as he intervened in the Sumas 2 gas-fired power plant south of the border near Abbotsford.
“Doing so will please businesses and the people of British Columbia, as well as make a significant leap forward in addressing climate change and making a commitment to the Liberals’ so-called green energy plan,” said Mr. Bruce.
For more information, call:
Ian Bruce
Climate change specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
604-732-4228, ext. 275 or cell: 604-306-5095
ibruce@davidsuzuki.org
Sarah Marchildon
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
604-732-4228, ext. 237
smarchildon@davidsuzuki.org