{"id":271876,"date":"2023-08-06T20:07:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T18:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=271876"},"modified":"2023-08-06T20:07:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T18:07:48","slug":"alberta-suspends-approvals-for-green-energy-projects-such-as-wind-or-solar-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=271876","title":{"rendered":"Alberta Suspends Approvals for Green Energy Projects, such as Wind or Solar Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Solar energy and wind power stations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The recent suspension of all approvals for large renewable energy projects in Alberta, Canada, speaks to a reality that many are unwilling to acknowledge \u2013 that the headlong rush towards \u2018green\u2019 energy isn\u2019t always as beneficial as it is claimed to be. As outlined in\u00a0Bob Weber\u2019s article for The Canadian Press,\u00a0<\/a>Alberta\u2019s United Conservative government has responded to mounting concerns over these projects, which touch on land use, environmental impact, and the stability of the energy system itself. And rightfully so, given the disruptions and potential hazards they pose to established communities, landscapes, and industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/9875106\/alberta-pause-renewable-energy-citing-rural-concerns\/amp\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his article, Weber states,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIn a statement Thursday, the government said the Alberta Utilities Commission is to institute a six-month moratorium on approving all wind and solar power projects greater than one megawatt over issues of development on agricultural land, effect on scenery, reclamation security, and system reliability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here we see a responsible, pragmatic move by the Alberta government, acknowledging the concerns of the people they serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to what advocates of the green revolution may believe, the transition to renewable energy is not an unblemished panacea. Energy policy requires a considered, balanced approach that takes into account not just the end goal, but the means of reaching that goal. As Paul McLaughlin of Rural Municipalities Alberta points out,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cRural municipalities cover roughly 85 per cent of Alberta\u2019s land and their voices must be included in the approval process for all renewable energy projects.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Even the push for cleaner, renewable energy had value, it should not override the rights of communities and the importance of preserving landscapes. To bulldoze ahead with large-scale solar and wind farms without consideration for local environments and agricultural lands is not progress, it\u2019s recklessness. And it\u2019s this kind of reckless disregard for consequences that has led to the situation we\u2019re seeing in Alberta today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more critical to this discussion is the argument raised by University of Alberta energy economist Andrew Leach about the government\u2019s inconsistent approach to the renewable energy industry compared to the oil and gas industry. He pointed out the disparity, saying,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cNo one can imagine in the middle of an oilsands boom everyone saying what we need is a six-month moratorium on new approvals until we figure out how we\u2019re going to manage cumulative effects.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is a sound point. It\u2019s curious how the same caution and regulatory oversight applied to renewable energy are not seen with the same degree of urgency and stringency in the oil and gas industry, which arguably has a more significant environmental impact. Leach further highlights the ironic twist, noting that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cwhile the government has stopped renewable energy partly over concerns about how such sites can be cleaned up, it faces billions of dollars in environmental liabilities from the oil and gas industry for which it has little security and no real cleanup plan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Alberta\u2019s decision, although controversial, may serve as a much-needed reality check on the green rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\/T pat-from-kerbob<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent suspension of all approvals for large renewable energy projects in Alberta, Canada, speaks to a reality that many are unwilling to acknowledge \u2013 that the headlong rush towards \u2018green\u2019 energy isn\u2019t always as beneficial as it is claimed to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":271884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818320,691820083,691818118,691818130,691819121],"class_list":{"0":"post-271876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-green-energy","11":"tag-renewables","12":"tag-wind-and-solar-power","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0GettyImages-1032683612-e1554826239582.jpg?fit=6720%2C3780&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-18J6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":434840,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=434840","url_meta":{"origin":271876,"position":0},"title":"Alberta Joins Solar\/Wind Bust (uneconomic energy hits political risk)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWhy not state your real concern in plain English. \u2018The profitability of my company and others in the renewable energy business is being negatively impacted by the refusal of the citizens of Alberta (aka \u2018the government\u2019) to financially subsidize transmission.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)\"","block_context":{"text":"Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alberta-electric-system-operator-aeso"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNHl9AKaUujnp_oKefu2SSDZXqj5kkKnpsg2QUx1mG9gJiWTdguYjXMjVIa4vDgyWpjb0eadWQTVMvjaIrrOSiDo6A8U0tP3foiGqRpDmQ-EIlH29q2AYMajvpHZF9wJy_ZLSIM_tJ0TKAcwD65T_m0BEvRig-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNHl9AKaUujnp_oKefu2SSDZXqj5kkKnpsg2QUx1mG9gJiWTdguYjXMjVIa4vDgyWpjb0eadWQTVMvjaIrrOSiDo6A8U0tP3foiGqRpDmQ-EIlH29q2AYMajvpHZF9wJy_ZLSIM_tJ0TKAcwD65T_m0BEvRig-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNHl9AKaUujnp_oKefu2SSDZXqj5kkKnpsg2QUx1mG9gJiWTdguYjXMjVIa4vDgyWpjb0eadWQTVMvjaIrrOSiDo6A8U0tP3foiGqRpDmQ-EIlH29q2AYMajvpHZF9wJy_ZLSIM_tJ0TKAcwD65T_m0BEvRig-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNHl9AKaUujnp_oKefu2SSDZXqj5kkKnpsg2QUx1mG9gJiWTdguYjXMjVIa4vDgyWpjb0eadWQTVMvjaIrrOSiDo6A8U0tP3foiGqRpDmQ-EIlH29q2AYMajvpHZF9wJy_ZLSIM_tJ0TKAcwD65T_m0BEvRig-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNHl9AKaUujnp_oKefu2SSDZXqj5kkKnpsg2QUx1mG9gJiWTdguYjXMjVIa4vDgyWpjb0eadWQTVMvjaIrrOSiDo6A8U0tP3foiGqRpDmQ-EIlH29q2AYMajvpHZF9wJy_ZLSIM_tJ0TKAcwD65T_m0BEvRig-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":296025,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=296025","url_meta":{"origin":271876,"position":1},"title":"How did Alberta wind up facing blackouts in the extreme cold?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"With the\u00a0extreme cold, we are seeing very, very high demand. We set an\u00a0all-time record\u00a0Thursday night, 12,384 megawatts. The key difference \u2014 and there\u2019s never one single factor that puts us into a grid alert \u2014 it\u2019s the extreme cold, we\u2019ve had reduced imports and very little wind.","rel":"","context":"In \"Alberta\"","block_context":{"text":"Alberta","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alberta"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-16-131353.png?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-16-131353.png?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-16-131353.png?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-16-131353.png?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-16-131353.png?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":264997,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264997","url_meta":{"origin":271876,"position":2},"title":"American and Canadian Prairies Suffer Calm Weather Wind Power\u00a0Wipe-Out","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a reason that windmills were abandoned in the 19th\u00a0century: it\u2019s called \u201cthe wind\u201d. And it\u2019s why anyone serious about power generation, never takes wind power seriously.","rel":"","context":"In \"Canada\"","block_context":{"text":"Canada","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=canada"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/059414bbeb6f3b.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/059414bbeb6f3b.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/059414bbeb6f3b.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/059414bbeb6f3b.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/059414bbeb6f3b.webp?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":297691,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=297691","url_meta":{"origin":271876,"position":3},"title":"Freezing to Fight Global Warming","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In mid-January 2024, Alberta's grid experienced record electricity demand as Artic air sent temperatures plunging. 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