“Today is only one decision and it’s with respect to the environmental assessment,” Environment Minister Mary Polack told journalists in Victoria today, adding that a final investment decision will come before the end of the year.

The dam would be the third on the Peace River which the province began developing for its hydro-power resources half a century ago. The project would have about 1,100 megawatts of low-carbon electricity capacity, enough for 450,000 homes, as the province gears up to exploit natural gas reserves in the same area to export them to Asia.

BC Hydro expects the project to add C$3.2 billion to the provincial economy and last for a century, it said on its website.

Some local aboriginal groups oppose the dam because it would destroy habitat along the Peace River Valley.

Copyright 2014 Bloomberg

Lead image: Hydropower via Shutterstock