
445026 BC Ltd. has withdrawn from the environmental review process at the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office for its 71-MW hydroelectric project.
The company on April 22 notified the office of its plans to withdraw, with no explanation offered, and the office confirmed the withdrawal in a May 13 letter to the company.
The company had proposed to construct and operate a hydroelectric project located on the Nascall River. It was a two-site hydroelectric project with a combined capacity of 71 MW. A 57-kilometer-long, single transmission line would have connected the project with the existing BC Hydro power line at Bella Coola. A transmission line connecting the community of Anahim Lake to Bella Coola would also have been built as part of the project.
It was anticipated that energy generated by the project would be sold to BC Hydro and/or other users. Bella Coola and Anahim Lake are both non-integrated areas whose energy needs are met using diesel generation in combination with hydroelectricity. Eliminating the need for diesel generation would eliminate the release of greenhouses gases and particulate matter created through the combustion of diesel fuel, the company said in a 2008 project report filed with the office.
At the time of the 2008 report, 445026 BC Ltd. was wholly owned by Primex Investments Ltd. Primex is a family-owned, Vancouver-based investment company.