B.C. Hydro waiting on purchase agreements for four projects as part of call for power

Energy Minister Adrian Dix. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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The province and B.C. Hydro have selected four wind projects for purchase agreements from the roster of 14 proposals that were submitted as part of the 2025 call for power.

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Two of the projects, Bessie Wind Project and Sweetwater Wind Project, are in Dawson Creek, with the other two selected being the Nicola Wind Project in West Kelowna and the Taylor South Wind Project in Taylor.

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Energy Minister Adrian Dix told reporters in Vancouver that the projects will combine to add 3,500 gigawatts of electricity to the power grid, which he said is enough to power 350,000 homes and boost B.C. Hydro’s capacity by five per cent.

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The government has launched two calls for power as it seeks to increase its power capacity by an additional 20 per cent amid growing demand, which has been exacerbated by persistent drought in certain regions of the province.

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Dix, however, said the four projects selected in this second call for power, combined with the 10 projects combining for 5,000 gigawatts of electricity in the previous call for power, are a solid step in the right direction.

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He also touted the fact that First Nations will have at least 51 per cent equity ownership in all four projects.

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“We’re talking about $5 billion in equity for First Nations. So this is a successful approach,” said Dix. “What we’re doing here today is making a major announcement about the future of energy and electricity in B.C., the electricity we need for the jobs of the future, for the people who are here in the future and that we meet all of our goals. These are all dramatic, major projects.”

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The projects are all expected to be up-and-running by 2033 and the province estimates they could create as many as 1,500 jobs and generate $4.3 billion in private capital investment.

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B.C.’s first call for power in 2024 had some issues making its way through the province’s utility commission, with the commission extending the deadline for its review of the 10 selected projects seven times. The projects were eventually approved on Aug. 25, 2025.

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Barry Penner, a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister and chairman of the Energy Futures Institute, said the problem with the announcement is that wind power is intermittent and won’t always be available when the province needs it. He said the province also seems to be facing moving goalposts, stating it now needs 20 per cent more power capacity by 2030 when the original estimate was 15 per cent.

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“There’s a bit of a power crunch facing us,” said Penner, who also pointed out the province only announced 3,500 gigawatts of new capacity when it was seeking 5,000 gigawatts as part of the call for power.

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“They appear not to have gotten as much electricity as they were looking for, and the projected increase in demand is higher than what the government was talking about previously,” he said.

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