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Fitzsimmons power project must re-route for luge track

Ledcor investigates economic viability of moving IPP project

Developers of the Fitzsimmons Creek power project are back at the drawing board, revising their project on Blackcomb Mountain so as not to jeopardize Whistler’s Olympic bob/luge track.

Vancouver-based Ledcor is now waiting for a report on a re-routing option to determine if their project is still economically viable.

Originally the run of river project called for a four kilometre long water pipe, or penstock, running underneath the $55 million dollar permanent bob/luge track.

But security and safety concerns have changed those plans and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games has asked the company to reassess its plans.

"The value of the luge is significant and to pose a risk to such an investment is of concern," said Arthur DeJong, mountain planning and environmental resource manager with Whistler-Blackcomb.

"We’re trying to facilitate both projects in the area but at this point… the risk of trying to run a penstock underneath a luge, you can imagine that should a leak occur… it’s a risk that at this point… we will not take."

The bob/luge track is part of Whistler’s Sliding Centre, slated for Blackcomb Mountain, above Base II and next to the Fitzsimmons Creek.

Ledcor had planned to build an independent power project on the creek, allowing them to divert a portion of water, funnel it into the penstock, down to a powerhouse at the Blackcomb Words Yard, where the water would generate energy before being diverted back into the creek.

That was before the Olympic plans were unveiled, which put both projects in such close proximity.

"When the (IPP) plans first hit the table, the luge was not designated in this area," said DeJong.

"We didn’t know – that was something we could not have foreseen."

With its original plans scrapped, Ledcor now has two options on the table.

Both options still remove water from the creek but re-route the penstock to flank the bob/luge track on either side.

The first option, putting the pipe in the small stretch of land between the creek and the track, doesn’t look promising.

"There’s only a limited section of land that has the appropriate grade for the luge and in order to utilize it all, the luge gets forced very close to the creek," said DeJong.

This doesn’t leave much room for Ledcor’s pipe, he added.

The second option is to run the pipe on the right side of the luge track looking downhill, essentially moving it northeast towards the ski trails Gear Jammer and Lower Mainline.

"The challenge of going further east is that there’s a band of rock that we’d have to go through," said Derek Hutchinson, Ledcor’s project manager for the Fitzsimmons Creek IPP.

"That’s expensive."

The new route could also present challenges for putting the pipe underground as originally planned.

An above-ground option, though it could be cheaper, could also appear unsightly.

"We’d certainly try and put it underground because it’s out of site, out of mind," said Hutchinson.

"I guess the only qualification it would have is if there’s a band of rock through there or these gully crossings, then it may make sense to have it above ground."

The route could also present some aesthetic challenges, said Hutchinson.

In order to build the penstock, Ledcor would need a 20-metre buffer of clearing to manoeuvre equipment, potentially forcing them to remove some trees.

But DeJong said the northeast route would run alongside existing road and ski trails in part.

"With that option we would see the tree removal limited," said DeJong, who has studied the area from Whistler Mountain where most of the visual impact would be detected.

"Aesthetically, most of it… would not be detected and what would be detected could easily be greened up. It’s almost all second growth."

Despite the hurdles Whistler-Blackcomb is still keen to move forward with the power project.

Fitzsimmons Creek could generate 32 gigawatt hours of electricity each year, which is equivalent to the energy Whistler-Blackcomb uses in its annual operations, or the equivalent of the amount of energy needed to power 3,000 homes.

"We certainly, with the information we have to date, continue to see it as a step towards sustainability," said DeJong.

"For us living in the Coastal Mountains here with steep slopes and lots of hydrology, lots of water, the most economic way of generating green energy is through run of the river (projects).

"It’s my belief that every community, every region, should do whatever it’s capable of doing, whatever wherewithal it has, to try to come up with alternate energy sources."

That being said, DeJong pointed out the caveat to the project moving forward – it must have community and council support.

"Based on the information we have to date, we believe the Fitzsimmons is a river that is appropriate for a run of the river project in that its fish values, its recreational values, are quite limited in comparison to other rivers," he said.

"And the upside is the amount of green energy that can be produced."

DeJong reiterated that Whistler-Blackcomb does not have an economic motive to facilitate the power project. Its motive is primarily a move towards sustainability.

In the meantime Ledcor is waiting for a third party review of the northeast option.

"There are going to be additional costs and we really need to discuss those as to what can be done, so having that external to Ledcor’s construction company makes that a lot clearer," said Hutchinson.

The company is involved in a handful of independent power projects in the Sea to Sky corridor, most notably the proposed project on the Ashlu Creek north of Squamish, which is currently working its way through the approval process at the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. Kayakers and local residents have expressed opposition to the Ashlu project.