TransAlta cancels wind power project over new government rules on development
A major Alberta utility has cancelled a large wind power project in response to new government rules on where such developments can be built.
TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris said Friday the 300-megawatt Riplinger project near Cardston in southern Alberta will no longer proceed.
"We've reassessed our growth plans in the province," he said in a conference call to analysts.
"(The project) has been impacted by the new restrictions on development near protected areas and pristine viewscapes and will not be advanced. The project has been removed from our growth pipeline."
TransAlta is also to put three other developments on hold, as the government goes through a redesign of the province's electricity market.
The 100-megawatt Tempest wind project south of Lethbridge is affected by that delay, as is the gas-fired, 44-megawatt Pinnacle generator west of Edmonton and the 180-megawatt WaterCharger battery storage facility near Cochrane.
"They have been placed on hold until we receive sufficient clarity," Kousinioris said.
In February, the United Conservative Party government announced new rules on the development of renewable power in the province. They impose a new 35-kilometre buffer zone around protected areas and what the government calls "pristine viewscapes."
Riplinger would have been about 45 kilometres by road from Waterton National Park and about 55 kilometres from Beauvais Lake Provincial Park.
Kousinioris said the Riplinger project would have been on the edge of an exclusion zone.
The rules followed a seven-month moratorium on renewable energy approvals after the government decided the industry was growing too quickly, threatening agriculture and marring Alberta's landscape.
Analysts disputed the need for those restrictions, saying renewable energy is well down on the list of threats to farmland.
It's the second setback this week for low-carbon energy generation in Alberta.
Electricity generator Capital Power announced Wednesday it would cancel plans for a $2.4-billion carbon capture and storage project for its natural gas facility near Edmonton.
CEO Avik Dey said the cost of the project was too high and the regulatory environment around it too uncertain to justify going ahead.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Evacuation orders lifted in Fort McMurray Saturday as rain dampens wildfire activity
Residents of Fort of McMurray who were displaced over wildfire concerns were told to return home Saturday.
Member of Israel's War Cabinet says he'll quit June 8 unless there's new war plan
Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s three-member War Cabinet, threatened on Saturday to resign from the government if it doesn't adopt a new plan in three weeks' time for the war in Gaza.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Scottie Scheffler, from the course to jail and back: What to know about his PGA Championship arrest
Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested after police say he dragged an officer while trying to get around the scene of a fatal accident Friday ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.