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IPP planned for Begbie Creek

An independent power project on Begbie Creek just south of Revelstoke is in the early planning stages.

An application for tenure on the Crown land surrounding the creek and a water license were filed with the B.C. government by Streamflow Energy Inc. late last month.

The land application is for 185.7 hectares while the water application asks to divert 2.5 m3/s in order to generate 2.6 megawatts of power.

The project would divert water from Begbie Creek at an elevation of 865m and the powerhouse would be located at 640m elevation, near Highway 23 South. Both the intake and outtake are located to the west of Highway 23 South and above the popular Begbie Falls hiking destination.

Murray McPhail, the senior land officer with the Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, said the project shouldn’t have any impact on the waterfall since the powerhouse is above the falls.

He described the project as relatively small and that the pace of development would depend on the proponent.

Little is known about the proponent Streamflow Energy Inc. The company summary does not list any officers and lists Bruce Granstrom as the lone director of the company. He did not return a call for comment.

The brings to nine the number of IPPs in the Revelstoke area. According to the site IPPwatch.info, there are also small private power projects proposed for Eight Mile Creek, English Creek, Drimmie Creek, Moses Creek, Mulvehill Creek, Cranberry Creek and Kirkup Creek.The IPP on South Cranberry Creek is in operation.

Mike Watson, the head of the North Columbia Environmental Society’s IPP committee, questioned in an email the government’s policy on IPPs considering there are plans to divert so many creeks.