RUSS: BC backing itself into corner by refusing to diversify energy production in age of AI

The entire province of British Columbia will soon face an energy shortage. It is not a theoretical possibility; it has already begun.BC Hydro supplies the province with electricity but has failed in recent years to produce enough energy domestically to power all of BC. As a consequence, BC Hydro has been forced to import electricity from the United States.These electricity imports are not small-scale and are breaking new records as BC’s population and industry expand while its domestic power capacity shrinks. The push to electrify the province and shift away from natural gas is not helping the situation.Pressure on the power grid is emerging on multiple fronts. Artificial intelligence has exploded as a tool of the economy and requires massive loads of electricity, with one question asked of Google AI’s model requiring the energy of 10 Google searches.Annual winter snowpack has continued to decline as weather patterns change, reducing BC Hydro's traditional supply of available hydroelectricity. Even before AI began to advance, the NDP government’s push for electric vehicles and the full electrification of home heating across BC placed greater demand on BC Hydro.This growth in demand has not been matched by a rise in energy diversification. BC continues to reject the possibility of expanding natural gas or even broaching nuclear power.AI is revolutionizing the modern economy, and it is not going anywhere, along with its enormous power demands. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and other tech giants have announced they will construct large data centres due to the rise of AI and modern developments that require more processing than traditional computing software.By some estimates, AI will account for 8% of American energy demand by 2030. To believe that BC and the rest of Canada will not follow suit is wishful thinking.Every new AI model increases the demand for computing power, and data centres must scramble to match it. Microsoft is planning to spend USD $10 billion on the expansion of renewables to power the company's AI operations.If this is the future of technology, BC's grid is falling behind.According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, BC is a region at risk of shortfalls as early as next year. Meanwhile, the NDP government has mandated that 90% of all automobiles sold in the province must be EVs by 2030.In cities like Vancouver, city councils have opted to eliminate the possibility of natural gas heating for new home builds and force residents to stick with electricity. Intended to cut down on carbon emissions, these policies dramatically ratchet up demand for electricity.Heat pumps are becoming the default option for home heating, but during cold snaps, they require large increases in electricity to keep houses warm.A future where hydro can keep up with all the demands of the modern economy simply does not exist. Electrification is not the issue. The problem is that BC has put nearly all its eggs in the hydroelectricity basket.Unlike other power sources, such as thermal generators, which can create electricity at the flick of a switch, hydroelectricity depends on the weather. Wind and solar are the preferred alternatives of the NDP government, but those, too, are unreliable.Without the capacity to store energy, BC is exposed to future gaps in its electricity supply.The NDP has continued to oversee the phaseout of reliable electricity sources, such as the Campbell River Island Generation plant, which generates power from natural gas and is set to close in 2026.BC is also one of the jurisdictions in Canada that still bans nuclear power completely. Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan already have or are open to small modular reactors as a low-emission source of energy.Canada has abundant supplies of uranium for extraction and use, but BC has stubbornly refused to even entertain the possibility of nuclear power.All in all, BC is in danger of future energy shortages that will force the province to keep importing electricity from the US in a climate of tariffs and economic uncertainty. There is time to correct this, but action needs to be swift

RUSS: BC backing itself into corner by refusing to diversify energy production in age of AI

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