Growth of renewables: a regional perspective

In the Pacific Northwest region:

• There are abundant green energy resources.
• Sustainable development of these resources is restricted by limited interconnection capacity and transmission infrastructure.

The JdF Cable Project would:

• Add transmission capacity, reduce congestion, and improve system stability, which in turn would:
• Encourage and promote development of renewable resources on both sides of the border, benefiting residents of both Canada and the U.S. by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmentally friendly construction, installation and technology

We are committed to using the latest, best available, transmission technology and installation techniques to minimize effects on the environment.

HVDC Light® is more environmentally benign than AC technology. The Cable will be sited, designed, constructed and operated in a manner that will avoid and minimize impacts to environmental and marine resources.

The combination of HVDC Light® technology and horizontal directional drilling capability provides the most ecologically benign and socially acceptable mechanism for transmitting bulk electrical power. The cable emits no varying EMF, and is out of sight - fully underground and underwater for its entire length.

Environmental Permitting Process

Sea Breeze has successfully completed the environmental permitting process for the jdF Cable Project.

This process included:

• An environmental assessment consistent with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, as part of the Canadian National Energy Board’s regulatory process.
• A review conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act by the U.S Department of Energy that led to the issuance of an Environmental Impact Statement.

Renewables firming Renewables

In October 2010 Sea Breeze released study results of a Wind Diversity/Correlation Study (Vancouver Island) that was conducted in collaboration with the Bonneville Power Administration ("BPA") comparing wind energy regimes of the Columbia River Gorge (within the utility region managed by BPA) with a wind energy regime located on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada.

The conclusions of the Study indicated that for the time period selection of detailed data analysis (measurements taken every 10 minutes throughout 2007), the average monthly and diurnal wind pattern of the Vancouver Island site was complementary to the Columbia River Gorge region’s average annual and diurnal wind pattern. Click here