What's Motivating Danielle Smith's Moratorium on Wind and Solar Projects

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🧵 about @ABDanielleSmith's 7-month moratorium on new wind, solar projects. Move roundly condemned by economists, clean energy groups. The criticism is deserved, but there's more to this story, IMO. #ABleg #ABpoli alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=887605547987E-EABF-5E23-DFF2C9F72DB845E6

2/Min @neudorf_ab says moratorium a response to AB Utilities Commission (AUC) July 21 letter that raised 2 issues: 1. "development of power plants on high value agricultural lands" 2. "lack of mandatory reclamation security requirements for power plants" alberta.ca/external/news/AUC-Letter-to-Minister-Neudorf-July-21-2023.pdf

3/AB Electricity System Operator (AESO) also wrote a letter dated July 21 that supported "an inquiry into land use and reclamation issues..." alberta.ca/external/news/AESO-Letter-to-Minister-Neudorf-July-21-2023.pdf

4/And Paul McLauchlin, president, Rural Municipalities of AB (RMA), endorsed the moratorium, saying RM "voices must be included in the approval process for all renewable energy projects. Are these concerns legitimate? Might there be other issues lurking in the wings?

5/Are Smith/UCP anti-wind/solar? "We are a natural gas province and we will continue to build natural gas power plants because that is what makes sense in Alberta," she told RMA convention in March. Cf, Emissions Reduction & Energy Development Plan, energi.media/markham-on-energy/danielle-smith-has-an-oil-and-gas-marketing-plan-not-a-climate-plan/

6/What about posting of surety bonds to ensure funds for reclamation by wind/solar farm developers? The irony is thick. AB regulators rejected full-reclamation cost bonds for wells 100 years ago and eliminated ALL security in 1986. energi.media/unethical-oil/unethical-oil-part-2-albertas-orphan-well-crisis/

7/Could concerns have been addressed without a moratorium? UCP in power 4+ years, RMs have raised issues before, plenty of opportunity to act before now. Never under-estimate UCP incompetence. The Keystone Kops of provincial govts. energi.media/markham-on-energy/ucp-is-the-worst-energy-government-in-albertas-history/

8) Are their solutions? Agrivoltaics has been around for 40 years. Does Alberta really need to bring industry growth to a screeching halt to figure out how livestock/grains can co-exist with wind and solar? It's science, but not rocket science. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrivoltaics

9/Solar panels recycling is a thing. Wind turbine recycling, also a thing. Again, did AB really need a moratorium while ABGov devised a policy to ensure that recycling takes place? Did it pause oil/gas development while crafting 2022 reclamation policies? Not on your life.

10/The moratorium "is in direct response to a letter received from the AUC." Critics point out that pausing development could jeopardize AB's reputation with investors and cause $25 billion of projects to be cancelled. Hmm, what motivated the AUC to make such a drastic request?

11/The AUC says that its "case-by-case application process for new power plants is ill-suited to address these broad policy changes (farming land use, reclamation)." Okaaay, but, yet again, did the need for new policy justify a moratorium? Or is something else going on?

12/Since you asked: "...higher monthly utility bills are causing customers to begin questioning the value of grid-provided service and, in still small but growing numbers, to begin looking for alternative means of obtaining electricity.

13/"Wind/solar/batteries "creating new avenues for customers to potentially bypass utility service and the associated tariff charges...raises questions about future viability of electric utilities and the role of regulation during a period of significant industry transformation."

14/Basically, big commercial, industrial customers can use wind/solar to generate their own power, disconnect from the grid, sticking remaining customers (read, utilities) with really high costs. *Quotes are from "Distribution System Inquiry Final Report," AUC, 2021.

15/You can imagine how alarmed utilities and AESO (which might explain the system operator's letter supporting the moratorium) are watching AB add 1 GW of wind/solar last year, 2 GW planned for 2023, and plenty of projects in the queue.

16/Imagine the disruption to the power sector status quo. More importantly, imagine the potential to damage natural gas demand from the AB power sector! Who are Smith's biggest supporters? Small and medium-sized gas producers.

17/I can't draw a straight line yet between concerns raised in the 2021 AUC report and the moratorium, but I'll settle for a dotted line in the meantime. It would go a long way to explaining why a seemingly easy problem to solve has suddenly emerged from left field.