Renewables industry feels burned by Alberta's sudden pause on project approvals

Members of the renewable energy industry say the Alberta government has knocked the wind out of them by pausing all approvals of new power plants for nearly seven months.

"I think it was a mistake," says Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA). "I'm worried about investor confidence in our electricity market. I'm worried about affordability for customers. I'm worried that we took something that was going very well in Alberta, and we had an advantage, and we're giving up our advantage."

The government on Thursday morning announced the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the agency which evaluates and approves electricity generation projects, would hold an inquiry on land use and reclamation. It will report back to the government by Feb. 29, 2024 on how to foster an orderly development of renewable power in the province, considering the effects on agricultural, recreational and Crown land and whether developers should pay a security to account for future site cleanup costs.

The commission says it will pause power plant project approvals for wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydroelectric generators during that time.

Although the government said there were 15 projects in the queue for AUC approval, the Pembina Institute on Thursday said the pause puts 91 projects worth $25 billion of investments and tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

Binnu Jeyakumar, director of the electricity program at the Pembina Institute think tank, says the move could also exacerbate power prices, as wind and solar are among the cheapest sources in the province.

Critics say the temporary moratorium on new renewable power installations larger than one megawatt is unprecedented and unnecessary.

Heather MacKenzie is the executive director of Solar Alberta, which has 900 members who produce power commercially or generate it for personal use.

She said Alberta leads the country in solar reclamation with a pilot recycling project underway for over a year. 

Despite concerns from some landowners about solar and wind installations potentially encroaching on arable farmland, MacKenzie says Solar Alberta already has recommendations published, encouraging developers to avoid wetlands and wildlife corridors. She says the installations do not have to compromise food security.

"We're out ahead here, and it's really shocking to see that an industry and a province that is at the forefront of all of these issues is putting a pause on some really significant environmental, but also economic and energy sector growth," she said.

As more citizens suffer the effects of climate change — including wildfires, floods and droughts — now is not the time to delay the greening of Alberta's electricity grid, she said.

Although some municipalities benefit from the property taxes renewable energy installations are paying, there have been growing concerns with the rapid growth in wind and solar installations in rural areas.

In addition to worrying about the loss of farmland, some neighbours said they don't want the noise generated by wind turbines. And municipal leaders wonder who is responsible for cleaning up an abandoned site.