BURSTMultiple wind energy projects may be on the horizon for the Bulkley-Nechako region, literally, and the regional district board of directors is concerned over potential cumulative effects.
As a result of BC Hydro’s Call to Power, many Investigative-Use Licence (IUL) applications have been submitted to the Province to test the viability of potential wind energy projects in the region.
Last year, 186 Energy applied for a five-year IUL to determine the feasibility of a potential wind project near Maxan Lake, roughly 7 kilometres west of Burns Lake.
Recently, the company filed for two additional IUL applications, one south of Babine Lake and north of Fraser Lake, and one near Telkwa.
Following recent shifts in provincial legislation and subsequent IUL application notifications, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako board of directors has voiced concerns at multiple meetings this year regarding the potential impacts of wind energy on the region’s natural landscapes and local wildlife.
Regarding 186 Energy’s IUL application near Telkwa, the RDBN board passed a resolution at their meeting on June 11 to provide a comment to the company.
“The Regional District has concerns regarding the cumulative effects of wind farms and requests that the Province develop a strategy to manage the number and cumulative effects of wind farms in the region. The RDBN is concerned that the BC Hydro Call for Power process and the [BC Energy Regulator] approval process for selected projects is not adequate to protect community interest in the RDBN,” the resolution states.
On July 1, 2025, the BC Energy Regulator (BCER) became the primary permitting agency for wind, solar, and major transmission line projects following the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act.
The Act exempts land-based wind power projects — and the North Coast Transmission Line — from the current provincial environmental assessment process under the Environmental Assessment Act.
In response to the board’s comment, 186 Energy’s Director Steve Davis provided a written letter, dated June 22.
“Our study is not an application for a permit to build a wind project,” Davis wrote.
The study is meant to measure the wind in the area, as well as other various technical, environmental, engineering and land use characteristics, he said.
IULs allow companies to collect data, but do not guarantee any future development.
“If the study determines the site is unsuitable for a wind project, we will remove the monitoring station and leave the site untouched as we found it.”
“If the study indicates a wind project may be feasible at the site, it does not necessarily mean a wind project will be constructed at the site,” Davis continued, as that would be “a significant multi-year undertaking conditional on contracts, permits and consents.”
However, if a 100 to 200 MegaWatt (MW) wind project did end up being built on 186 Energy’s IUL application area, Davis stated that the expected direct land use would require less than five per cent of the total proposed area, less than 200 hectares.
“This is a relatively small footprint compared to alternate power sources. For example, the footprint of wind turbines of 200 MW capacity is less than 1 per cent of the flooded area of the 91,000 hectare Nechako reservoir,” he wrote.
“The total Nechako reservoir area if divided by Kemano Generating Station’s 896 MW capacity, uses approximately 100 flooded hectares to power each 1 MW capacity. We can extrapolate that as 200 MW requires 20,000 flooded hectares,” Davis stated.
RDBN board members discussed Davis’s response at their recent board meeting on July 9.
“I think it might behoove the board to consider what its perspective is on wind,” said Smithers mayor Gladys Atrill.
“I’m certainly not opposed to wind power, whether or not there’s a point at which the visual impact is too much, that’s probably true. There may be areas more suited than others, that’s probably true, … I think you know the point on cumulative impact makes sense to me, but I think we also have to sort of tackle this,” she said.
“There’s so much [industry] going through, and are we saying that the renewables are not welcome?”
An idea was brought forward by Director Chris Newell (Electoral Area G) to create a point-based system for evaluating future projects.
After much discussion, the board settled on Director Shirley Moon’s (Electoral Area F) motion to develop a “straightforward list of the things that are important to the board.”
“Myself, as a director, I fully understand I need to go out and talk to the community and see how they’re feeling, but I think we need maybe even a short list of the most important things that we look at as a board, and that would just be our starting point,” Moon said.
When put to a vote, the motion was carried.
According to Davis, 186 Energy’s research indicated less than 10 per cent of wind IUL applications issued on B.C. Crown land have resulted in fully realized wind projects.
“In the event our proposed feasibility study is successful, and a wind project is developed in future years, the project will provide significant economic and job creation benefits to the RDBN,” Davis wrote in his letter.
“If built to the two mentioned capacities, the regional investment in new clean energy infrastructure would be approximately $300 to $600 Million. The Project would create more than 200 construction jobs for 1 to 3 years, and up to another 10 to 15 local long-term careers in project operations and maintenance. Indirect and induced jobs would also be created to support local businesses and services, with a substantial regional economic benefit generated over the 30 year service life of the Project,” Davis continued.
Notification letters have been sent to all First Nations whose traditional territories are overlapped by the application area.
If a future project should arise from one of 186 Energy’s IUL applications, the project will be co-owned by regional First Nations, Davis stated.