While most people were frustrated by the extended wet Spring, the operators of the Upnit Micro Hydro facility were happy.
The 6.5 mega watt hydroelectric project on China Creek beat their previous record of 30 gigawatts this year according to Manager Bert Casavant.
“The snow cap on the mountains and the precipitation really helps us, that’s what we run on most of the year until the summer and then the snow pack melts and we get more water coming down,” he said. “We ended up running until July 29th and the record before that was July 9th, so that’s like three weeks extra.”
Upnit employs 20 people and earns more than a million dollars a year selling electricity into the grid.
The run-of-river power plant became operational in 2005 and is owned by the Hupacasath First Nation with the Ucluelet First Nation, Synex Energy and City of Port Alberni holding minority shares.
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