Accelerating Renewable Energy Projects in BC: An Overview of Bill 14

As part of the Government of British Columbia’s efforts to streamline its permitting processes, Bill 14: Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act  (“Bill 14”) and Bill 15: Infrastructure Projects Act  (“Bill 15”) received royal assent on May 29, 2025. Bill 14 provides the legislative foundation for the province’s Clean Power Action Plan (“Action Plan”), which was released on May 5, 2025. The Action Plan sets out five initiatives to help meet the province’s growing demand for energy and to drive investment in major infrastructure projects while reducing emissions. These initiatives include a second call for power, developing capacity projects, advancing energy efficiency technologies, supporting clean technology investments through the BC Innovative Clean Energy Fund, and streamlining access to electricity for new homes and businesses.

We discuss Bill 15, and general trends around permit streamlining efforts here. This blog post provides an overview of Bill 14, which provides a means to accelerate permitting of renewable energy projects and transmission infrastructure.

Which projects are eligible?

Bill 14 applies to the following projects:

• the nine wind energy projects that were selected by the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority through its 2024 call for power (the “2024 Call for Power Projects”);^[i]
• the North Coast Transmission Line Project (“NCTL”) (which involves upgrades to, and construction of, transmission infrastructure between Prince George and Terrace); and
• other renewable energy projects to be prescribed by regulations.

The category of ‘other’ renewable energy projects includes a facility for the generation or storage of renewable energy or an electric transmission line or related facilities, but a hydroelectric project that includes a dam would not be eligible for streamlining under Bill 14.

For the purposes of Bill 14, renewable energy is energy derived from a renewable resource, which includes biomass, biogas, geothermal heat, hydro, solar, ocean, wind or other resources prescribed by regulation. As explained by the Honourable Adrian Dix at the Committee discussions of Bill 14, the legislation’s approach provides the flexibility to include new sources of renewable energy over time to reflect technological developments, as is the case with the Clean Energy Act. He also noted that the streamlining under the Bill is not intended to be made available for fossil fuels or uranium, which are already subject to specific legislative regimes.

With the 2025 Call for Power underway, we can expect that additional projects selected under this process will most likely be afforded the streamlining processes under this Act in the near future.

How does Bill 14 streamline permitting efforts? 

Bill 14 streamlines permitting efforts and will facilitate the proliferation of renewable projects and transmission infrastructure in several key respects, which are discussed in further detail below:

• by excluding certain projects from the Environmental Assessment Act (“EAA”);
• by designating streamlined projects into three levels of streamlining categories, which each promotes the coordination with, and delegation among agencies responsible for other legislation to, the British Columbia Energy Regulator (the “BCER”) in order to promote a “one window approach” to projects and to reduce administrative barriers; and
• by specifically providing certain powers of delegation among provincial agencies and providing the BCER with certain authority to permit projects located on agricultural reserve lands.

Exclusion from the Environmental Assessment Act

Bill 14 provides that the EAA does not apply to the 2024 Call for Power Projects, the NCTL, and, where designated by regulations, other wind energy projects and specified electric transmission line projects.^[ii] Notably, the exclusion from environmental assessments is not available for non-wind generated renewable resources.

One Window Approach

Under Bill 14, streamlined projects will be categorized under three “levels” of streamlining via regulation (apart from the NCTL, which has already been designated as a level 2 streamlining project). The streamlining levels are described below:

• Level 1 Streamlined Project: Bill 14 amends the Energy Resource Activities Act (“ERAA”) in order to allow the BCER to exercise powers or duties delegated to it through other provincial legislation. The provincial government has indicated that this level is a transitional provision to allow the BCER to take responsibility for streamlined projects in the short term – more specifically, Level 1 streamlining will apply to early works authorizations while the regulatory framework is developed, and all projects will eventually be designated as level 2 or level 3 streamlined projects.
• Level 2 Streamlined Project: While Level 2 streamlined projects are subject to various aspects of the ERAA, they are not required under the ERAA to obtain a permit. The provincial government has stated that this streamlining will be available for projects where it is not necessary for the BCER to be responsible for the regulation of the project through its whole life cycle because other regulations are in place that can adequately serve that purpose (i.e. the regulatory regime applicable to BC Hydro). Level 2 streamlining focuses on providing explained that Level 2 streamlining provides BCER with the authority to oversee most of the provincial natural resource authorizations needed to facilitate construction, operation and maintenance of the project to facilitate a one-window process. According to the current government’s vision as articulated at the Committee stage for Bill 14, this will likely just apply to transmission line projects.
• Level 3 Streamlined Project: Level 3 streamlined projects are subject to the ERAA, including the requirement to obtain a permit thereunder. As explained by the provincial government in the Hansard debates, the intention behind Level 3 streamlining is to provide life cycle regulation of the activity through ERAA permits under the BCER. The Lieutenant Governor in Council and BCER each have the power to enact regulations for the purposes of Level 3 streamlining. This is the most comprehensive expression of “one window” regulation under Bill 14.  

Note that while the provincial government has indicated what each of these streamlining levels will be used for, Bill 14 itself does not set out any of the criteria for designating a project under the levels. Further, while Bill 14 specifies certain provisions which will or will not be applicable to the streamlining levels, much of the detail on how this regime will be implemented (particularly for level 3), will be determined through regulations. The province has indicated that regulations will be implemented in three phases:

• Phase One: A regulation establishing the BCER as the primary authorization agency for the NCTL project. The BCER will have authority to issue provincial natural resource authorizations for wind projects.
• Phase Two: A regulation establishing the BCER as the primary regulator and permitting authority for renewable energy projects. Wind and solar projects will require an activity permit from the BCER.
• Phase Three: BCER board regulations establishing a regulatory framework for the life cycle oversight of wind and solar projects.

Delegation of Authority and Jurisdiction over Agricultural Reserve Lands

Bill 14 provides the means through regulations or another instrument for the delegation of various responsibilities to the BCER (as stated above, as well as in relation to other various responsibilities such as issuing permits under the Heritage Conservation Act and the Wildlife Act).

Lastly, Bill 14 furthers the one-window approach by specifically allowing the BCER to permit a non-farm use or soil or fill use of land in, and subdivision of land in, the agricultural land reserve under the Agricultural Land Commission Act (the “ALCA”), instead of the Agricultural Land Commission. If the BCER provides such an approval, the applicable project is exempted from various aspects of the ALCA. Further, Bill 14 is excluded from the provisions in the ALCA which generally provide that its provisions supersede other provincial legislation. This mechanism is similar to existing processes in relation to oil and gas activities which seek to be located on agricultural land reserve.

Next Steps

As we noted in our blog post on Bill 15, the streamlining initiatives in Bill 14 have been met with mixed reception. Much of the detail on how the Bill will be implemented is left to regulations and inter-agency delegation, so the ultimate impacts of this legislation are yet to be seen. We will continue to monitor regulatory developments in this space and provide updates as they arise.

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If you have any questions about streamlined permitting initiatives across Canada, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

^[i] The 9 projects are the Boulder and Elkhart Wind Project, the Brewster Wind Project, the Highland Valley Wind Project, the K2 Wind Project, the Mount Mabel Wind Project, the Nilhts’l Ecoener Project, the Nithi Mountain Wind Project, the Stewart Creek Wind Project and the Taylor Wind Project.

^[ii] The electric transmission line projects are:

(i) a project to upgrade, construct or operate electric transmission lines, or related facilities, from around Terrace to around Bob Quinn Lake, Prince Rupert, Ridley Island or Kitimat; and

(ii) another electric transmission line project that is related to the North Coast Transmission Line project.