The recent 25 per cent tariff comes as B.C. turns to wind farm projects to make up for a coming electricity supply-gap

B.C.’s premier has raised concerns with Prime Minister Mark Carney that a recent move to impose a 25 per cent tariff on wind towers will drive up costs for a number of projects meant to close an electricity supply-gap over the coming years.

Premier David Eby acknowledged Friday there is not a wind tower or turbine producer anywhere in Western Canada that could pick up the slack from foreign imports, which largely come from China.

While the tariffs may make sense for Ontario’s steel industry, Eby said they will have a very different impact on B.C. and will drive up costs for major public infrastructure projects in BC Hydro’s 2024 call for power.

“I’ve spoken personally and directly to the prime minister on this very topic,” said Eby.

“We all need to pull together, but it is absolutely crucial for the federal government to understand that actions that are taken that make a lot of sense in Ontario, [they will] have a very different impact here in British Columbia.”

Eby, who is scheduled to meet with wind power proponents on Monday, said the federal government is considering exempting existing wind projects from the steel tariff.

Late last month, the prime minister’s office released a sweeping list of measures meant to boost domestic demand for steel and lumber.

Among the measures, the government said it would impose a global 25 per cent tariff on “targeted imported steel-derivative products,” including wind towers, prefabricated buildings, fasteners and wires.

BIV confirmed with BC Hydro this week that the tariffs will apply to nine wind projects announced by the utility in December 2024, designed to close an impending electricity shortage in the province. The projects are slated to be built on Vancouver Island and in multiple locations throughout the province’s Interior, central and northern regions.

“We did not know this was coming. As you can appreciate—tariffs have been ongoing developments throughout the year,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Kyle Donaldson.

Patricia Lightburn, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association’s director of policy for British Columbia, said proponents of the wind projects submit bids with razor-thin margins.

The tariffs threaten to derail already announced projects completely while placing added costs on future projects expected to be announced next year in another call for power, she said.

“BC Hydro is counting on the gigawatt hours that will be supplied by these two calls for power,” Lightburn said. “And if that supply is put at risk through these tariffs, then that’s going to be a problem for BC Hydro in meeting future demand.”

Over the long term, the tariffs will also likely drive up the cost of electricity for ratepayers.

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) recently released a report indicating that wind power is expected to drive renewable energy growth through 2030, filling 70 per cent of demand.

The largest growth is expected to be seen in Quebec, followed by Alberta and B.C.

Marmen Inc., a Canadian subsidiary of the German-owned Enercon Global GmbH, operates Canada’s only major wind turbine manufacturing facility in Matane, Que.

The facility produces turbine components such as concrete towers and blades, but comes nowhere close to meeting domestic demand, according to Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

A 2023 inquiry from the Canadian International Trade Tribunal found Western Canada was nearly entirely reliant on foreign suppliers for wind towers, largely due to high transportation costs and the massive scale of upcoming projects.

The tribunal found China had subsidized the utility-scale steel wind towers and then sold them in Canada at below-market prices. The practice was found to have caused material injury to Canada’s domestic industry.

Eby said that while the attack on steel in Ontario and Quebec is real, the tariffs will have a very different consequence for B.C.

The premier said Carney and his team said they would look at remitting the tariffs to B.C., and establishing a policy that would bring certainty going forward.

“I’m certainly going to hold him to that,” said Eby.