BN12-63: PEACE ENERGY WANTS TO BE A PLAYER

By Jamie Dirom, Daily News Staff

People need to get involved if they want to see the economic spinoffs

from wind power benefit Dawson Creek, says a local group.Peace Energy Co-op interim director Don Pettit said local investment in one of the Peace Country's biggest untapped resources is needed if the region wants to get the most out of wind power.

"It's a very exciting economic development opportunity for our region," said Pettit. "It could have a very positive economic spinoff."

But if people in the region don't work for a stake in wind development, he warned that the power and the profit will likely be sucked up by an American company. Already, two American companies have expressed an interest in leasing

the Bear Mountain property for wind power production, Pettit said. There are 22 applications for wind power leases in the B.C. Peace. Bear Mountain is crown-owned land, and it is currently leased to B.C. Hydro for wind power testing. Peace Energy wants to secure the lease for power production.

"We're trying to get our application in (for the lease)," he added. Pettit said if people want to ensure the benefits from wind power remain local, their best bet is to get involved with Peace Energy.

"The more people behind us, the more clout we have," he said.

He added that the group is already getting noticed - a couple of Canadian wind power companies have inquired about partnering with the co-operative. One of those companies is Calgary-based Vision Quest Windelectric, Canada's largest wind power producer.

"(Wind power) is a very attractive investment opportunity," Pettit said. "Hundreds of millions of dollars will be dropped into this region for wind power development."

He added that members of the co-operative will have a chance to buy in a little or a lot should its bid to become a player in the local wind power scene prove successful.

"If people are interested in becoming part of a very lucrative investment opportunity they can certainly keep their eye on Peace Energy and see what happens," Pettit said. "But the best thing they could do is join.

"We hope Dawson Creek becomes the renewable energy centre for the Peace," he said.

Pettit said a B.C. Hydro report that calls Bear Mountain one of the province's best sites for the environmentally friendly energy source comes as no surprise to the group. The report, he said, confirms what the group had previously heard from researchers about the area's wind power potential.