By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun February 10, 2012

Four B.C. first nations com-munities that were relying on diesel generation for their power will be converting to electrical as part of BC Hydro's new smart meter program.

Gwen Barlee, Wilderness Committee, 06Feb2012

The BC government’s announcement last Friday that it is axing BC Hydro’s electricity self-sufficiency and insurance requirement should dramatically reduce the demand for private power projects and keep scores of wild rivers out of pipes.

Erica Fisher, EnergeticCity.ca, Fort St. John, Feb 8, 2012

Site C and B.C.'s proposed LNG development go hand in hand, according to Premier Christy Clark. In an interview with Moose FM/energeticcity.ca, Clark explained that the newly approved licence for Shell to export liquefied natural gas out of Kitimat will use 100 per cent of the power Site C would create.

Marc Lee, Progressive Economics Forum, February 8, 2012

With the spotlight on the federal government’s aggressive push to export tar sands bitumen via the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline to Kitimat, and from there by tanker on to China, the BC government reclaimed some attention on the energy file when it released its Natural Gas Strategy last week. With lots of glossy pages, but little detailed content, it is reflective of Premier Clark’s signature style. The short of it is that shale gas from BC’s Northeast is to be pipelined to Kitimat and loaded onto tankers in liquid form (LNG) to be exported to China. Between LNG and Enbridge, little Kitimat is poised become an export platform for the two most environmentally controversial practices of the oil and gas industry, shale gas and tar sands extraction, all to appease the endless appetite for energy coming from the curious blend of totalitarian police state and unbridled capitalism that is modern China.

Robin Rowland, North Coast Energy News, February 2, 2012

The National Energy Board has approved a 20-year-export licence for Kitimat’s second LNG project, known as BC LNG. A NEB news release says:

News Release, Premier's Office, Feb 3 2012

VANCOUVER - Premier Christy Clark today announced British Columbia's natural gas strategy will be established on a foundation of four priorities for long-term economic prosperity under the BC Jobs Plan.

By Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun, February 3, 2012

VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark is making over her predecessors approach to energy self sufficiency to help make way for a significant expansion in the production of liquefied natural gas.

Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, Feb. 03, 2012

Victoria — British Columbia will abandon its current commitment to move the province back to a position of energy self-sufficiency, Premier Christy Clark is announcing today.

The watered-down version of the policy is being rolled out as part of a new energy strategy aimed at fuelling a new liquefied natural gas industry.

By GORDON HOEKSTRA, Vancouver Sun, January 4, 2012

Fifth in a series

The Kitimat Terrace Industrial Development Society stands out as the lone business group intervener in northern B.C. offering unqualified support for Enbridge’s proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline.

By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, January 4, 2012

California’s new carbon cap-and-trade regulations, which came into effect Jan. 1, will require BC Hydro’s power exporting arm to buy costly carbon credits on its energy exports beginning in January, 2013, likely wiping out Hydro’s primary export market and increasing the cost of electricity to B.C. consumers in the process, a B.C. energy economist said Tuesday.

By Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun, December 22, 2011

Copper, oil shine brightly among commodities

Tembec Inc says dissolving pulp one of its few Q3 highlights (Photograph by: Peter Battistoni, Postmedia News, Vancouver Sun)

The top picks for investors going into 2012 should be oil and copper, a commodity price expert said Wednesday.

Both commodities will remain strong throughout the New Year, said Patricia Mohr, vice-president, economics and commodity market specialist at Scotiabank.

Energy & Mines, December 2011

The British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines (the Ministry) is undertaking a review of the tenure provisions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act (the Act) and its regulations, which provide the statutory framework for the administration of rights to Crown owned subsurface petroleum and natural gas resources. 

By Shaun Thomas, The Northern View, December 15, 2011

Ridley Terminals has reached another long term agreement with a coal company that could result in significantly more volume being moved through Prince Rupert.

Malcolm Baxter, Kitimat Sentinel, December 16, 2011

The Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative (CFN) say one of the redeeming features of liquefied natural gas exports is that in China it will be used largely to replace coal, “the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet.”

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, December 14, 2011

The province on Tuesday granted environmental approval to a proposed run-of-river power project on the Kokish River of northern Vancouver Island that was opposed by conservation groups over potential threats to steelhead and salmon habitat.

QCI Observer, 12 December 2011

Haida Nation president Guujaaw says the nation will not be getting into the wind farm business, after citizens rejected a partnership with NaiKun Wind Energy Group in a vote Saturday (Dec. 10).

By Geoff Olson, Courier, December 8, 2011

Lab rats right to call for referendum

This week, The City of North Vancouver called on the provincial government to halt plans to install smart meters or allow the program’s inspection by the B.C. Utilities Commission. In California, 43 cities, towns or counties have publicly opposed the devices, with 11 jurisdictions banning them outright. Are civic leaders bowing to pressure from paranoid Luddites, or are they wising up to a multibillion-dollar boondoggle that’s outfitting homes with fry-and-spy devices? Or is the answer huddling somewhere in between the contending claims?

By Mike Hager, Peter O’Neil and Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, December 5, 2011

Gitxsan First Nation communities held emergency meetings over the weekend to figure out how to scuttle a Northern Gateway pipeline deal with Enbridge Inc. announced Friday.

By Shaun Thomas, The Northern View, November 28, 2011

Students from Charles Hays, community leaders and members of the media were invited to Ridley Terminals on November 28 to see progress on the terminal expansion, and afterwards chair Bud Smith said the work doesn’t necessarily end when this current project is done.

By Greg Nesteroff, Nelson Star, November 28, 2011

More than 40 scientists and land management professionals have signed a letter to BC Hydro​ protesting the closure of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program’s Nelson office.

Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, November 15, 2011

By Andrew Findlay, Georgia Straight, November 24, 2011

Mineral exploration is exploding in B.C., but critics claim the provincial government isn’t assessing the environmental impact.

MARK HUME, Globe and Mail, Nov. 27, 2011

VANCOUVER — There have been growing concerns in British Columbia about the impact of private power projects on streams and rivers.

But we should worry about our lakes, too, according to a file of internal government documents related to the Tyson Creek hydroelectric project.

Skeena Wild, Terrace Daily Online, November 15, 2011

Dear Premier Christy Clark,

RE: Environmental consequences of multiple development projects in the British Columbia – Alaska transboundary region