EDMONTON—The Alberta government says newly released Ottawa’s Clean Electricity Regulations are “unconstitutional, irresponsible and do not align with Alberta’s emissions reduction and energy development plan that works towards a carbon-neutral power grid by 2050.”
“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.”
Ms. Smith said meetings would be focused on “how to bring Ottawa’s efforts to decarbonize the economy in line with Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault unveiled the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations on Aug. 10. The federal government is giving the provinces and territories 75 days at the minimum to comment on the regulations.
Alberta has already made its opinion known.
“These regulations make desperately needed investments in new natural gas generation almost impossible,“ Ms. Smith said. ”If implemented in Alberta, these regulations would endanger the reliability of Alberta’s power grid and cause massive increases in Albertans’ power bills.”
She added that if the feds do not align with Alberta, the province “will chart its own path to ensuring we have additional reliable and affordable electricity brought onto our power grid that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
“What we’re talking about is not a fossil fuel-free grid by 2035; it’s a net zero grid by 2035,” he said.
“We understand there will be some fossil fuels remaining … but we’re working to minimize those, and the fossil fuels that will be used in 2035 will have to comply with rigorous environmental and emission standards.”
Mr. Guilbeault said natural gas plants would have to meet specific regulations, namely to emit less than 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour annually. The federal government has now said it will exempt times of emergencies and peak periods from regulations regarding emissions capture.
The federal government has also proposed exemptions for remote and northern communities that are not connected to the main power grid.
Alberta said it is sticking to its plan. “This is the direction Alberta is going. We invite the federal government to support us, rather than hinder us, in doing so,” Ms. Smith said.
The enforcement of the new rules is not planned until 2035, with Mr. Guilbeault explaining this is meant to give a heads-up to the industry to begin making investment decisions that will be compliant.
