Alberta brings in new restrictions on renewable power projects

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The Alberta government is introducing a series of new restrictions on the development of renewable power projects that come following a moratorium on such projects that was introduced last summer and ends on Thursday.

Last August, the government announced it was instituting a six-month pause on all approvals related to renewable energy projects greater than one megawatt, citing as justification concerns over the impact on the environment and on rural areas.

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On Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith and Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf announced the changes in a move they claim will support Alberta’s agriculture lands.

“We want our province to remain the jurisdiction of choice for investors. But growing our renewable energy industry must happen is well defined and responsible ways,” Smith said.

“We need to ensure that we’re not sacrificing our future agricultural yields, or tourism dollars, or breathtaking viewscapes to rush renewables developments.”

The government outlined 13 new policies Wednesday, including:

• Renewable generation developments are no longer permitted on soil with either no or moderate limitations on crop usage unless it can be demonstrated that crops and/or livestock can coexist with the renewable project.
• Developers will be responsible for reclamation costs via bond or security.
• Creation of 35-kilometre buffer zones to protect “pristine viewscapes.” Wind projects will not be allowed within these buffer zones and other developments may be subject to a visual impact assessment.
• Any development of renewable development on Crown lands will be on a case-by-case basis.
• Municipalities have an automatic right to participate in Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) hearings.

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Those new policies take effect on Friday, March 1 and are not retroactive to existing projects, but will affect 26 new renewable energy projects pending approval.

‘Not the level of detail the industry needs’

At the time the moratorium was announced, those in the renewable energy said they were blindsided by a policy change they claim was not necessary and would jeopardize hundreds of billions in investment.

Jorden Dye, the director of the Business Renewables Centre-Canada, stated Wednesday the government’s announcement raised more questions than answers.

“This is not the level of detail the industry needs to make investment decisions.”

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) stated that it welcomed the end of the moratorium but also cited its concern over “significant uncertainty” around the industry.

“It is critical to get these policy changes right, and to do so quickly,” stated CanREA president and CEO Vittoria Bellissimo.

Deputy Executive Director at Pembina Institute claimed that under the new rules, more than three-quarters of southern Alberta would be off limits to wind.

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“It further takes the choice of land development away from landowners,” the institute said in a statement. “Landowners in affected areas can no longer invite a renewable energy project on their land, maximizing their potential revenue, if their land falls under these new land restrictions.”

In January, the Alberta Electric Systems Operator issued four alerts urging residents to conserve power and warning of the possibility of rotating blackouts if demand got too high amid plunging temperatures.

The electricity operator said the crisis was due to two natural gas generators that weren’t operating, coupled with a lack of renewable energy being produced due to low winds and a shortage of daylight at this time of year.

‘Too subjective to be effective’

Speaking in Ottawa, Liberal Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal described the new policies as unfair to the industry and accused Smith of being on an “ideological crusade against renewables.”

“It seems that the ‘temporary’ job killing moratorium is now becoming permanent job-killing policy, via a
red-tape burial of this job-creating industry.”

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Opposition environment and tourism critic Sarah Elmeligi said the government’s plan amounts to an unfair double standard that will lead to decreased investment in the renewable sector.

“I do struggle with hypocrisy of this particular series of policies being directed towards renewables and not necessarily towards other industrial practices on the landscape,” she said.

“Are we going to ask all industrial activity to meet the same standards around view scapes and buffers around protected areas?”

She described the rules around pristine views as being “too subjective to be effective” and questioned the need for the moratorium at all.

“What did we spend six months waiting for?”

mblack@postmedia.com

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