Notes from the Oct. 8 Revelstoke City Council regular meeting.
A proposed independent power project on Moses Creek in the Westside Road area will likely face a public process when it applies for rezoning to locate a portion of the project’s infrastructure within city limits.
The Times Review first reported on the Moses Creek IPP proposal in December, 2010.
“I believe that where the power generator would be is within city boundaries, but a lot of the headworks and the penstocks are not, so it would be inter-jurisdictional,” said mayor David Raven at council’s Oct. 8 meeting.
Council was responding to a referral from Moses Creek Power Inc., who sent out a project development plan for their 4.0 MW project that will divert water from Beattie Creek and Moses Creek to generate power.
Council referred the item to city staff and the city’s development committee for further investigation.
“We have referred it to staff to clarify what stage it is in,” mayor David Raven told the Times Review. “At that time you would discern which activities and responsibilities the city would have with respect to this proposal. The city council or others may have other opinions may have other opinions that are outside of the actual legal responsibilities of the city, which would be zoning and development permits and things like that.”
At the council table, Coun. Tony Scarcella asked for a motion to support the project in principle, but didn’t get a seconder from the council table.
Coun. Gary Starling expressed mixed views on the project: “They do create a lot of employment. I do have an issue with this longstanding agreement … that Hydro has with all these small operators,” he said.
“They are paying exorbitant amounts for hydro that’s produced by these projects and that is really the only reason that makes these projects viable, otherwise they would be dead in the water. I would support Hydro expanding the Revelstoke Dam rather than all these small projects that tear up the countryside.”
However, Starling said, despite its downfalls, it would be an economic generator: “On a whole, they do create employment, so I would probably support it. There is definitely an issue with this longstanding agreement they have, and it needs to change, but that’s not something that can be decided in these council chambers.”
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View the referral document sent to the City of Revelstoke here: