INNOVATION January-February 2015

started working directly with that industry to help them get contracts with BC Hydro.” Janet Benjamin, P.Eng. FEC, now President of Vireo Technologies, worked with Willis as a consultant for BC Hydro on the Power Smart program. “Paul was helping customers create energy in a systematic way, not just by put- ting in efficient motors and fans, but also the duct work, as he be- lieved the rest of the system had to be efficient, too,” she recalls. “Even before BC Hydro started Power Smart in 1989, Paul had been going into the plants, analyzing their processes, and learning about their mainte- nance cycles and how buying decisions were being made. He was able to show them it would lower costs.” Willis was able to demonstrate that companies could be- come efficient enough in their processes that they could not

than clean or renewable energy; he’s helped reduce the demand for energy.” “In BC, we still have the concept of being a very resourced-based economy,” says Willis. “But now a lot of the new jobs are coming from the information industry. We’re undergoing a transition that is taking us to a future where it will be possible to have low growth, like 2% GDP growth, with no more new large-scale power generation.” On the subject of BC Hydro’s Site C, the large dam and hydroelectric station to be built on the Peace River, Willis acknowledges the debate around it, but offers another perspective: “Whether it gets built or not, we will eventually get to the point where we won’t need to build large energy resources. We’re going to get all our energy from smaller renewable projects like wind and run-of-river, and utilize the smart grid concept. That’s the trend all across North America, and because of our Power Smart experience and our renewable power heritage in BC,

“In sawmills and pulp mills, there was a large amount of wood waste and that cre- ated a problem, because the beehive wood burners caused serious pollution. I set out to show that waste energy could be used to produce the power that the sawmills and pulp mills needed,” he says. New Beginnings in Familiar Territory In the 1980s, BC Hydro owned the gas division and a railway, and operated the buses. At that time, explains Willis, the government of the day wanted to break it up and privatize parts of BC Hydro. So, he decided to start his own consulting company, and put a proposal together to privatize his job. “I asked BC Hydro to give me a three-year contract. This enabled me to establish Willis Energy Services. Then, because I knew the independent power business and the people involved, I Throughout his career, Paul Willis, P.Eng., has been helping industries find energy savings and look for opportunities to produce their own power. Top: Paul Willis, P.Eng., is presented the R.A. McLachlan Memorial Award by past president Mike Bapty, P.Eng., FEC, recognizing his career in engineering.

only supply power for themselves, but sell power back to the generator and intercon- nect with the grid. “Paul linked industrial processes to independent power, non-utility generation, and that’s why he’s such a key figure in creating our sustainable energy industry,” says Benjamin. Changing Attitudes Willis Energy Services became a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas-based CLEAResult in January 2014 with Paul Willis as the Managing Director of the Vancouver Business Unit. BC Hydro con- tinues as one of the firm’s major clients. “Paul has helped us improve people’s perception of energy efficiency and demand-side management in its deliver- ability, so we’ve been able to defer long- term energy projects that BC Hydro would otherwise have to build,” notes Kevin Wallace, P.Eng., Manager of Industrial Marketing at BC Hydro. Willis has had great influence on demand-side manage- ment in moving programs forward that reduce industrial customers’ reliance on gas utility-supplied sources, he observes. “He’s played a huge role in changing people’s attitudes. What he’s done is even better

19

J AN UA R Y/ F E B R UA R Y 2 015

i n n o v a t i o n