nestled in the heart of Northeastern British Columbia the site seam is more than just a hydroelectric project it's a 12 billion Mega project shrouded in controversy environmental tension and Promises of clean energy when complete this colossal Dam will generate enough electricity to power nearly half a million homes but its construction has come at a high cost thousands of hectares of Farmland submerged entire ecosystem altered and Indigenous rights called into question supporters hail it is a Cornerstone of British Columbia's green Energy Future while critics argue it's an environmental and financial boondoggle behind the scenes stories of
geotechnical challenges legal battles and ballooning budgets offer a glimpse into the complexity of constructing such an ambitious project today let's take a deep dive into Canada's controversial new Mega Dam project and unravel the political environmental and human Stakes that Define it don't forget to click on that subscribe button and like this video as it's the best way to support this Channel Canada produces 60% of its electricity from Hydro power making it the third largest Hydro power producer in the world in fact sight SE dam is actually one of 475 hydroelectric power stations in Canada but
but why does Canada have so many dams well Canada is home to some of the largest and most powerful river systems in the world with more than 20% of the world's freshwater reserves Canada's rivers are an ideal resource for harnessing renewable energy through Hydro power this is the Peace River and sight seek isn't the only Dam along it in fact there are three dams along the river all part of a massive hydr power initiative first proposed in the 1950s the first of these the wac Bennett dam was completed in 1967 forming the Williston Reservoir at
the time it was the largest Earth field structure ever constructed and today Williston Remains the seventh largest Reservoir in the world by volume several years later in 1980 a second Dam the Peace Canyon dam was built farther Downstream creating a much smaller Reservoir one major advantage of this project is that by constructing multiple dams on the same river the water can be reused to generate electricity as it flows Downstream when the sight SE dam is completed it will span 1,000 m in length 500 m in width and stands 60 M High the dam consists of
16 million cubic M of Earth fill material most of which was sourced from on-site excavations though some had to be transported using a 5 km conveyor belt system this might seem like an enormous amount even for a dam but it's designed to endure a once in 10,000-year earthquake something many believe British Columbia is overdue for the reservoir behind the dam will take around 4 months to fill once the remaining infrastructure is finished as part of this process 83 km of the Peace River will be flooded creating a reservoir that's more than half the size of
Washington DC once operational the dam will generate 5,100 gaw hourss of electricity per year boosting British Columbia's total power supply by approximately 8% Additionally the electricity produced will be renewable readily available and relatively coste effective according to the builders despite years of lobbying by BC Hydro the publicly owned company responsible for all three dams the provincial government repeatedly turned down the sight C proposal BC Hydro projected a 2% annual increase in electricity demand but the government had a different perspective that changed in 2014 when the project was finally approved since the initial proposal British Colombia's
population had tripled the economy had surged and Canada had begun its transition toward a net zero future taking all this into account the government concluded that the demand for additional electricity was now justified in July 2015 with a budget of approximately $6.4 billion construction of the dam began now that construction is nearly finished the cost of the project is doubled to $12 billion back then not everyone was in agreement in 2017 the newly elected DP government of British Columbia led by Premier John Horan commissioned an independent review of the Project's Financial viability by this time
construction was well underway and cancelling a mega project of this size would have been a tough decision to make the review conducted by the British Columbia Utilities Commission concluded that site C was likely to face further cost overruns and that the province should consider suspending or terminating the project but despite this Premier Horan ultimately decided to continue with the project citing sunk costs in the need for long-term energy security he said it wasn't the project he would have favored but that it must be completed the project encountered further challenges in a 2020 progress report from
BC Hydro they labeled the overall status of the project as red indicating serious concerns regarding the schedule scope and budget structural issues were also identified in parts of the Dam's foundations sight SE is built on Shale or soft rock which can shift Under Pressure unlike solid Bedrock this is an a deal breaker as 16 other dams worldwide are built on similar ground yet it's crucial to ensure a stable Foundation especially in a region prone to landslides and seismic activity to address this BC Hydro devised a unique solution instead of constructing the dam directly across the
river they opted for an L-shaped design as you can see in this image additionally they added a concrete buttress beneath the dam to enhance stability and Safeguard against seismic activity improving the overall safety of the structure so if sight C can generate so much renewable energy why has it faced criticism to begin with the dam is located on treaty 8 land an agreement EST established in 1899 treaty 8 covers a region larger than France and guarantees the rights of 39 indigenous First Nations communities to hunt fish and trap on the traditional land flooding the Peace
River to create the sight sea Reservoir will destroy nearly 10,000 hectares of this territory violating the constitutional rights of the tree8 First Nations even John Horan before reversing his stance on the project voiced concerns on on behalf of tree8 he wasn't alone in 2019 the United Nations urged the halt to construction until an agreement was reached with the impacted First Nations although construction didn't stop an agreement was eventually reached and of course a mega project like sight SE impacts more than just people it also disrupts local wildlife in the Peace River Valley the area is
home to a diverse range of species many of which were will be displaced or killed by the construction of the reservoir according to one report at least 63 species are at risk due to the construction animals such as beavers Birds bears and Elk will lose access to their natural habitats and migratory routes while BC Hydro has plans to restore the wetlands destroyed by the project rebuilding ecosystems is a slow process and critics argue that the damage will already be done now you might be wondering why despite the several controversies BC Hydro and the government were
so determined to push ahead with this project well there are few reasons for this first and foremost sight c will generate a substantial amount of clean renewable electricity however it's not just the quantity of electricity that matters availability is equally important within the dam there is a component known as a head gate which opens and closes to regulate the flow of water through the structure by adjusting the head gate the dam can increase electricity production during times of high demand and decrease it when demand is low this ability is a key advantage of Hydro power
over other renewable sources like wind and solar we cannot control the amount of wind or sunlight but we can manage the water flow through a dam this makes hydroelectric projects like sight SE highly efficient additionally since sight sea is the third Dam in a series along the same river its efficiency is further enhanced another key reason for advancing the project is its economic advantages despite its high costs site C offers a variety of economic benefits for the region and for British Colombia as a whole BC Hydro estimates that the construction of sight sea will contribute
$130 million to the regional G GP and $3.2 billion to the overall GDP of British Columbia in essence site c will create numerous job opportunities both directly through construction work and indirectly through the procurement of goods and services as of February this year more than 2,700 individuals were employed on site this Surge and activity not only stimulates the local economy but also Fosters overall development throughout the province this brings us to the third reason which is somewhat more speculative and certainly open to discussion sight seat isn't the only major project British Columbia has been pursuing
there is also the Coastal Gas link pipeline a 670 km pipeline designed to transport natural gas from Northeast BC to the West Coast in a new facility being constructed in kmat the gas will be cooled into a liquid state resulting in liquefied natural gas these processes demand a significant amount of electricity and LG can be sold internationally for big profits consequently some believe that sight C is primarily being developed to generate the electricity necessary for preparing LNG for export critics argue that using hydr power to process natural gas amounts to an attempt to greenwash a
climate unfriendly industry placing profit above public interest BC Hydro has responded to this controversy by stating that sight C would be necessary with or without an LG sector as of now the construction of the dam is nearing completion with sight seat expected to begin generating electricity sometime next year if all goes as planned we will finally be able to see the transformed landscape of the Peace River Valley in the years to come we can reassess whether sight C was a worth while Endeavor it's possible that the Boost and clean electricity will offset the Project's significant
budget overruns but the impacts of environmental damage the LG conspiracy and the rights of indigenous lands May overshadow the dam for its entire lifespan what are your thoughts on this Mega project leave a reply in the comments section thanks for watching and see you in the next video
