Midgard recently attended Generate 2026, hosted by the Clean Energy Association of British Columbia. The conference brought together utilities, regulators, developers, Indigenous representatives, and industry professionals to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing British Columbia’s energy sector. Several themes stood out, including regulatory change, transmission development, project risk, and the growing complexity of provincial energy planning.

A major topic was the BC Energy Regulator’s expanding role in renewable energy permitting under the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act. The intent is to provide a more coordinated, single-window process by consolidating responsibilities that were previously spread across government. While the new framework may simplify permitting over time,developers will need to follow evolving regulations, agency responsibilities,and fee structures closely.

Project insurance was another area of focus. Discussions highlighted the importance of examining exclusions, equipment replacement timelines, and business-interruption coverage in detail. A project may appear adequately insured while still being exposed to risks such as uninsured production losses or transformer replacement periods that exceed the policy’s coverage assumptions.

BC Hydro also discussed the difficulty of planning for increasingly large customer interconnections. Proposed loads in the range of 300 to 600 MW can materially affect provincial forecasts, particularly when individual projects may be delayed or cancelled. At the same time, the North Coast Transmission Line and future 500 kV expansion remain essential to supporting industrial growth, although their timing and delivery continue to involve significant complexity.

The conference also reinforced that peak demand will shape future infrastructure requirements. FortisBC emphasized the role of the gas system in meeting winter heating peaks and argued that a dual-fuel approach could reduce or defer some electricity-system investments. This reflects a broader challenge for British Columbia: balancing electrification objectives with reliability, affordability, and the practical limits of existing infrastructure.

Generate 2026 provided a useful view into how quickly the province’s energy landscape is changing. For Midgard, these discussions reinforce the importance of considering permitting,interconnection, transmission, insurance, and system capacity together when evaluating energy projects. We thank CEABC and the conference participants for the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to the ongoing conversation about British Columbia’s energy future.