“It’s unlikely to think this kind of pause and decision will have no impact on investment,” said Sara Hastings-Simon of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. “It’s hard to know how large (the impact) is—but we’re in a competitive market to attract capital.”As recently as last summer, the sun shone bright and the breezes were favourable for Alberta renewables. The Business Renewable Centre, a group that links buyers and producers of renewable energy, said Alberta was on track to see $3.7 billion worth of construction by the end of this year, creating more than 4,500 jobs.Then, in August, Alberta’s United Conservative government announced a moratorium on approvals for all wind, solar, and geothermal projects greater than one megawatt. The announcement was made suddenly, without consultation.Government officials initially said the pause was made at the request of rural municipalities and the Alberta Utilities Commission. When it turned out no such requests had been made, the move was justified by concerns over reclamation, destruction of farmland, and despoiling of what the government called “pristine viewscapes.”Premier Danielle Smith has since expressed public doubts over renewables, calling them a “fantasy” and suggesting they are unreliable and expensive. She mused about creating a Crown corporation specifically to fund natural gas-fired power generation.“They’ve been pretty clear in their public messaging,” said Tim Weis, a professor in the University of Alberta’s engineering faculty. “There seems to be a lot of direct attacks on renewables.”All of which has eroded trust, said Claude Mindorff of PACE Canada, a company behind several solar projects in Alberta, including a stalled 14-megawatt installation outside of the village of Caroline.“I feels like there’s underlying agendas on the part of the government,” he said.Weis said the pause’s end date of February 24 doesn’t necessarily signal a return to normal.The Alberta Utilities Commission has another month after that to complete an inquiry into the industry. Then the government has to digest and implement recommendations.“If (it has) announced that we need another two or three years to figure out the rules, that’s going to add to the uncertainty,” Weis said.Meanwhile, other jurisdictions are making moves. Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia are opening their doors to more renewable power—not to mention the vast U.S. appetite for investment capital.The favourable economics of renewable power in Alberta could also be eroded by increased costs, whether from new regulatory requirements that force companies to front-load clean-up costs or competition for labour and materials as the backlog of projects breaks.“That may move (power purchase agreements for renewables) out of an economic range,” said Jorden Dye of the Business Renewables Centre.Hastings-Simon said installing enough solar power for Alberta to have a net-zero grid would consume about 0.1 per cent of its arable land.“We certainly need to be thoughtful about local land use impacts,” she said. “But as far as the concern around competition for land, the scale of land available suggests that’s not a serious concern.”The Alberta Utilities Commission requested a report on agricultural effects. It found farming can continue around renewable energy sites, from pasturing animals to growing crops.The commission also asked for a report into how giant windmills might affect the province’s much-loved landscapes.That report looked at 20 different studies of how wind farms affected real estate values. Eight showed no effect, six showed a negative effect. while the rest showed mixed results.The very idea of “viewscapes” rules makes investors nervous, said Dye.“It’s too nebulous to be a regulatory concept.”As for decommissioning and remediating costs, developers say those requirements already inform their budgets. Mindorff said a pause wasn’t needed to firm up rules around something companies were already doing.He said placing roadblocks in front of an industry that hasn’t caused any problems is “unbelievable gall.”“Without dealing with the decommissioning of oil and gas sites, how can you with a straight face say the renewable energy industry should deal with decommission?”Another report for the utilities commission concluded that solar and wind facilities have significant, although variable, salvage value. Nor does renewable power create the chemical contamination concerns of oil and gas sites.The pause will come off sooner or later and new rules will be laid down. Alberta’s abundant sun and wind as well as its open-entry electricity market are powerful motivators for companies to build there.Josh Aldrich, spokesperson for Alberta’s Ministry of Affordability and Utilities, told CP the proof is in the number of companies that want to build in the province. The number of projects in the Alberta Utilities Commission approvals queue has grown by almost 50%.“This is a strong indication tha
Source: Crucial ‘Stumble’ on Renewables Moratorium Could Cost Alberta ‘Forever’