‘Unrealistic, irresponsible, and unconstitutional’: Alberta rejects Ottawa’s draft regulations on clean electricity

Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas is rejecting outright Ottawa’s announcement Thursday of draft regulations on clean electricity, citing affordability concerns and unrealistic timelines to reach a net-zero grid by 2035.

“The draft regulations are unconstitutional, irresponsible, and unrealistic and would make life less affordable for Albertans and Canadians,” said Rebecca Schulz.

“They will not be implemented in our province. Period. They can't. We are beginning our talks with the federal government and if we can't get alignment, Alberta will chart its own path to ensure we have reliable and affordable electricity for the people we serve.

Schulz added that adequate steps will instead be taken to reach Alberta’s goal of reaching a carbon neutral grid by the year 2050.

She said the province has an adequate natural gas baseload and is incentivizing carbon capture abated natural gas generation, small modular reactors, hydrogen and a sustainable amount of wind, solar and other renewables to drive down electricity costs.

Premier Danielle Smith agreed with her minister’s comments and says she looks forward to ongoing discussions with Ottawa.

One of the only positives at this point is that these are ‘draft’ regulations and Alberta is about to commence a working group with the federal government to discuss how to bring Ottawa’s efforts to decarbonize the economy in line with Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan,” Smith said in a statement.

“Albertans and our government care deeply about responsible environmental stewardship. We are confident Alberta’s plan will get us to a reliable and affordable carbon-neutral power grid by 2050.

This is the direction Alberta is going. We invite the federal government to support us, rather than hinder us, in doing so.”

'SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY SECTORS': CAPP

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) said the federal government’s announcement of clean electricity regulations will have ‘significant implications for the energy and electricity sectors.

“We are reviewing these regulations closely and will be consulting with our Members. CAPP is concerned that the proposal, as currently drafted, will limit the ability to use natural gas as a back-up to renewable energy post-2035,” CAPP CEO Lisa Baiton said in a statement to CTV News.

“Canada produces some of the world’s lowest-emitting natural gas and is a critical part of our country’s energy security, including acting as a back-up for the intermittency challenges of renewable power.

"We are also concerned that the proposal will have investment impacts, causing further uncertainty in the Canadian energy sector. CAPP intends to actively participate in the consultation to address the concerns on behalf of our members.”

DRAFT REGULATIONS AIM TO REDUCE 342 MILLION TONNES OF GHG EMISSIONS BY 2050

The federal government announced Thursday that electricity infrastructure expenses are expected increase significantly over the next several decades as maintenance and increased demand is estimated to cost $400 billion by 2050.

The country's grid is already nearly 85 per cent clean, but demand is expected to double by 2050 as things like cars, buses and trains become electric.

"Why not make sure that this build-out is clean and affordable?" asked federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault.

The government expects the draft regulations would decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 342 million tonnes between 2024 and 2050.

The ministry has been seeking feedback on the regulatory framework for nearly a year and will consult on the draft regulations for 75 days, with a final version expected to be published in January 2025.

They won't come into effect until 2035, but given the long lead time needed to build new electricity infrastructure Guilbeault said the government wants to give the industry plenty of notice.

"One thing we've heard from investors, from energy companies, is: 'Tell us what the rules are, and we will comply with them,"' the minister said of the consultations so far.

"They want to know what the rules of the game will be, and that's exactly what we're doing. We're giving them a lot of time to prepare."

Guilbeault said the draft regulations are designed to be affordable and achievable with existing technology that is already being used across the country.

They are also intended to show some flexibility, he said, particularly for remote communities that aren't part of the power grid and will be exempt from the new rules.

Federal and provincial governments are working together on plans and projects to reduce and eliminate the dependence on fossil fuels in remote communities, he said.

"We understand we're not there yet, which is why we've decided to ensure that the regulations wouldn't apply to them," the minister said.

He would not say if they have a timeline in mind to make clean electricity more accessible to all those communities that will be exempt.

ALBERTA UNIONS CALL FOR RESCINDMENT OF RENEWABLES MORATORIUM

The Alberta Federation of Labour representing 21 unions and 175,000 Alberta works called on the UCP government to rescind their moratorium on renewables.

The province announced last week that it has placed a pause on approving new wind and solar power projects, arguing that the federal government is preventing the development of backup generation for renewable energy like natural gas...

Premier Danielle Smith surprised the province’s renewable energy industry by announcing a six-month freeze on new projects greater than one megawatt.

President of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 955 (IUOE) Declan Regan says his team of more than 12,500 members was incredibly disappointed in the announcement.

“To us, it was a total shock, we weren't consulted and had no knowledge that this was going to happen,” Regan said.

“A lot of these workers and contractors out there have planned out the next couple of years ahead of them and these jobs, they're paying really good for families, they’re sustaining jobs, and they want to be on them for the next couple of years.”

IUOE Business Manger Chris Flett echoed those same feelings in a statement on social media.

“We would never see the government pause approval on future oil and gas projects, and rightfully so. To single out ad target renewables reeks of politics over sound policy and that’s very concerning,” he said.

Others who work in the renewable industry like David Vonesch also see no value in the province putting a stop to renewable projects.

The president of Calgary-based Skyfire Energy says the solar panel industry and renewables industry as a whole has grown substantially over the last several years.

“We’ve seen billions and billions of dollars in investment,” he said.

“And with that, we've seen a lot of job creation, so those projects if they don't move forward, if there's a pause with developers investing in new projects in this market, then those jobs will go elsewhere.”

-- With files from The Canadian Press