Backstage at a Run-of-River Green-Energy Project
TOBA INLET, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- When it comes to renewable-energy generation, location is everything. The southwest is a shoe-in for solar. Texas offers wicked wind. And this corner of the continent boasts steep, roaring glacier-fed rivers, and a growing group of companies harnessing them to generate carbon-free electricity.
Hydroelectric near Juneau
TOBA INLET, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- When it comes to renewable-energy generation, location is everything. The southwest is a shoe-in for solar. Texas offers wicked wind. And this corner of the continent boasts steep, roaring glacier-fed rivers, and a growing group of companies harnessing them to generate carbon-free electricity.
The technology is called run-of-river. In essence, these projects capture the kinetic energy of falling water without the massive negative impacts associated with dam construction, and they're causing quite a stir out here on Canada's West Coast, where geography and hydrology combine to create tremendous green-power potential. Though there are presently 35 run-of-river projects operating in the province, regional electrical utility B.C. Hydro has identified promising locations for as many as 900 more.
