Tag Archives: Gov of Alberta

Energy

Lost in Transmission

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By Will Noel, Pembina Institute

Alberta has abundant wind and solar energy but these resources are being wasted at record levels and driving costs up for consumers in the process. 

At the heart of the issue is a set of technical and regulatory barriers that mean clean, affordable, electricity is being wasted when Albertans need it most. 

This report provides an overview of the crux of the issue: while there is abundant, affordable, and clean energy available in Alberta, there isn’t enough transmission capacity to bring that energy to homes and businesses across the province.  This issue is leading to:

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Energy

Alberta’s oil and gas cleanup problem is growing

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By Janetta McKenzie, Pembina Institute

Alberta taxpayers, municipalities, and rural landowners are facing increasing costs and harms from inactive and orphaned oil and gas wells, Calgarians heard at a town hall Tuesday evening.

Co-hosted by the Pembina Institute, Alberta Environmental Network, For Our Kids and the Polluter Pay Federation, the Clean Up Your Mess town hall included expert presentations and first-hand landowner experiences of the growing oil and gas cleanup problem.

On April 9th, 2026, more than 4,000 wells and hundreds of other pieces of infrastructure were transferred to the Orphan Well Association following the closure of Long Run Exploration. This is the largest transfer to the OWA in Alberta’s history, doubling the association’s inventory overnight. Despite a 100 per cent increase in orphan wells, the levy paid by industry is rising by only seven per cent this year.

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Energy

Renewable energy project cancellations in Alberta hit alarming milestone

Cancelled wind, solar and storage projects exceed province’s average total power demand

Press release from the Pembina Institute

EDMONTON — August 21, 2025: Clean energy projects cancelled since the start of Alberta’s renewables moratorium could have generated more than Alberta’s average total power demand (109 per cent), according to new analysis from the Pembina Institute.

Since October 2023, projects amounting to almost 11 gigawatts (GW) of wind, solar and energy storage have been withdrawn from the Alberta Electric System Operator project development queue. Though not all proposed projects make it all the way to completion, cancellations for renewables over the last two years have been concerningly high, at 44 per cent. By comparison, 11 per cent of gas capacity proposed in the same timeframe has been cancelled.  

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Energy, Politics

Taxpayer Dollars, the pipeline, and Canada’s Clean Energy Future

Three weeks ago the Toronto Star reported that “three Liberals privately suggested to the Star that Prime Minister Mark Carney may put federal money behind a new pipeline to the west coast … Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, say Carney wants to see the pipeline built, and is realizing it may not happen without more public money behind it.”

Aaron Gunn, the Conservative MP for North Island-Powell River, emailed that he is not interested in discussing rumours. While he recently acknowledged the climate is changing, Gunn also stated Canadians have more important issues to deal with. The pipeline was one of them: 

“I will say this pipeline should have been built ten years ago. Instead, the world remains beholden to oil from brutal, dictatorial regimes like Russia and Iran, while Canadian oil sells at a discount to the United States.” 

Jennifer Lash’s response to the Toronto Star article was, “Ottawa is nothing if not a fish bowl of rumours.”

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Energy, Politics

In the Midst of a Global Energy Transition: Canada’s New Pipeline

Someone sent me a Facebook post in which North Island-Powell River MP Aaron Gunn points to a Petro Canada sign advertising gas for $2.09.9 a litre. 

Gunn wrote, “Ridiculous. 4th-largest oil reserves on the planet. $2.09 per litre at the pumps. It’s time to build pipelines, refineries and an energy policy that puts Canada, and Canadians, first!” 

My first response, when I calmed down enough to have a polite response, was ‘does he think a fully operational pipeline is going to drop out of the sky?’ 

So far, no proponents have stepped forward to build the proposed pipeline. Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta recently said there are some Middle Eastern and Asian investors who expressed interest in a minority stake. IF a proponent steps forward and clears all the necessary preliminary steps, it is still going to take years before oil flows through the proposed pipeline. 

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