Uncertainty over new rules on renewable energy sources in Alberta as moratorium set to lift
Global News
Alberta’s pause on renewable energy is set to lift, but experts say the competition landscape is changing.
After more than six months, Alberta’s moratorium on renewable energy projects will be lifted.
Earlier this month in Ottawa, Premier Danielle Smith confirmed the pause was going to end on the date that was originally announced: Feb. 29.
The pause was to allow the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) to conduct an inquiry into electricity generation in the province. The province said the AUC inquiry was to look at the classes of land renewable energy projects were installed on, their impact on vistas, reclamation security requirements for the renewable projects, and the impact of renewables on the electricity supply mix and reliability in the province.
One industry group said the moratorium set every renewables project in the province back by at least seven months. The Business Renewables Centre Canada (BRCC) claims it’s caused uncertainty for the industry in the province.
“It really created an opening for developers to start considering if their capital was better placed in other jurisdictions,” Jordan Dye, BRCC director, said. “Alberta just chose the worst moment, in my opinion, to launch this inquiry and a moratorium on projects.”
Recent numbers from the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) show that, nationwide, renewables grew by 11.2 per cent last year, led by Alberta. The prairie province was host to more than 92 per cent of the country’s overall growth in renewable energy and energy storage, CanREA said.
After submitting a report to the province at the end of January, the AUC says it’s “awaiting further policy direction” from the province.
The province said the Jan. 31 report is only one part of the final report, which is expected to land on Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf’s desk by March 29.