In recent years, renewable energy development has been surging in Alberta, a place where the electricity grid until very recently was dominated by coal — a fossil fuel with notoriously high emissions that is on track to be completely phased out this year. Even as natural gas fills that gap and now fuels more than 60 per cent of the grid, renewables have climbed from a relative footnote to generating almost 20 per cent of Alberta’s electricity.
But that nation-leading momentum came to a sudden halt this summer when the United Conservative Party government announced a surprise and immediate seven-month pause on approving new renewable energy projects.
The government directed the Alberta Utilities Commission, which regulates electricity, gas and water utilities, to hold an inquiry and prepare recommendations for new regulations in those seven months.
That decision, seemingly made without consultation, could impact the pace of future development, freeze or cancel projects already lined up for approval and hamper Alberta’s legislated target of having 30 per cent of all electricity generated in the province come from renewables by 2030.
So what exactly happened and what could it mean for Alberta’s renewable energy sector?
Source: Alberta’s moratorium on renewable energy, explained | The Narwhal
