During the fall of 2010, Alberta Acts launched its Green Energy Tour to engage Alberta communities on the benefits of low-impact renewable energy. The Tour is continuing into the new year.
What?| How? | Why? | Where? | When? | Who?
Solar thermal rooftop installation. Photo: Ashden Awards, www.ashdenawards.org
What?
Putting the power to generate electricity right in the hands of citizens.
Each tour stop will include meetings with with three general groups:
- Farmers, ranchers, and small businesses
- Chambers of Commerce
- Elected officials - MLAs, mayors and councils - to discuss local opportunities for renewable energy
The tour will combine five recent developments in renewables:
- Pembina's Greening the Grid work,
- The opportunity for a green energy act in Alberta,
- The technical potential for renewables in Alberta,
- The landowners' guide to wind power, and
- The benefits of community and cooperative ownership.
The tour will serve to share information and to further empower communities to take action on renewable energy.
Greening the Grid
The Pembina Institute explains two scenarios for increasing the proportion Alberta's electricity supply derived from low-impact renewables in Greening the Grid. The "green" scenario is a relatively easy way to increase the proportion of electricity in Alberta that is derived from low-impact renewables by 2020. The "dark green" scenario would reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation further still.
In 2007, Alberta generated 74% of our electricity by burning coal; only 3% was derived from low-impact renewables.
Maximizing energy efficiency and capitalizing on Alberta's vast wind power potential would help phase out dirty coal completely with relative ease.
Alberta Green Energy Act
Communities across Alberta are interested in the benefits a green energy act could bring.
Alberta needs a new policy to dramatically increase the level of ambition for developing renewable power in Alberta, which current sits at less than just 5% of the province's consumption. The two most common policies worldwide are known as either a feed-in-tariff (FIT) and/or a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). A FIT guarantees a price (tariff) for electricity generated at low-impact renewable energy facilities. A renewable portfolio standard sets a target for the proportion of electricity on the grid that is generated by low-impact renewable facilities and "fed" into the grid. A FIT would allow any community to sell electricity to the grid and generate revenue, allowing farmers to stay on their land and giving rural communities an opportunity for economic revitalization.
Alberta's green energy act could be similar to Ontario's Green Energy Act, which guarantees a 20-year price for electricity generated from low-impact renewable sources, or Nova Scotia's Renewable Electricity Plan, which offers a long-term fixed price for community projects. Ontario's Act includes favourable terms for facilities under 10 kW (microFIT) and for community-owned facilities. In both cases, reducing reliance burning on coal for electricity is a primary objective.
An Albertan "Green Energy Act" would provide policy and investment security in the province, whose current electricity market is fraught with uncertainties for renewable energy development. A more stable market will help to create meaningful and diverse jobs in Alberta in an important emerging part of the world's energy supply.
Technical Potential for Renewables in Alberta
Alberta's renewable energy resources place it among the jurisdictions in North American with the greatest potential for low-impact renewable electricity and heat. The South Saskatchewan Region alone offers the potential for over 3,300 MW of commercial-scale wind power and 24,000 GJ/day of biogas derived from a variety of feedstocks such as manure.
Alberta's South Saskatchewan Region is among the best in Canada for solar resources. The region could generate 1,100-1,400 kWh/kW of installed collector. The cities of Airdrie, Brooks, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat offer a total potential of 14,323 MW of solar power. Although solar power remains economically unfeasible for many potential developers, a feed-in-tariff similar to Ontario's $80.2/kWh for rooftop solar would drastically increase the economic feasibility of solar power.
Landowners' Guide to Windpower in Alberta
This guide helps landowners, companies and government understand and explain wind energy in Alberta. Whether you are a landowner negotiating with a wind power developer or a regional government looking at economic development, this guide can help you understand and get involved with the wind energy industry.
- Learn about royalties and how to get the best deal for the use of your land
- Find out what regulations govern farm-scale wind developments
- Discover the development process and what questions to ask wind developers
- Learn the facts on wildlife and other impacts
- Understand wind energy and how it works
Community- and Cooperative-Owned Renewable Energy Facilities
Global leaders in renewable energy - such as Germany, Spain, Portugal and Denmark - have relied heavily upon the community-owned or cooperative model for developing renewable resources to maximize the associated social benefits. Closer to home, Ontario, Nova Scotia and BC are seeing increasing interest in community-owned facilities.
Community-owned renewable energy facilities create local jobs and revenue with less environmental impacts than conventional energy options. The majority of Alberta's electricity (over 70%) comes from large coal plants that harm both the air and water, and produce one-quarter of the province's greenhouse gas emissions. Local communities seldom reap the full financial benefits conventional, or even renewable, energy facilities generate when those facilities are industry-owned. A community that owns a renewable energy facility keeps most of the profit, controls the facility's operation and contributes to a healthier environment.
How?
Chambers of Commerce are particularly interested in the community economic development opportunities of renewables
- Share information with key individuals and businesses during face-to-face meetings.
- Examine opportunities for MLAs and mayors and councils to support renewable energy by meeting with them and presenting specific data and cases.
- Support developing a business model for developing renewable energy facilities, with a specific focus on community economic development.
Why?
There are three main reasons for launching the Green Energy Tour:
- Diversify and green our economy, including community economic development.
- Reinvigorate rural communities economically and socially
- Reduce environmental impacts of electricity generation.
Despite masses of Albertans recognizing the many benefits of developing low impact renewable resource, the province still lacks policies that support renewables in a meaningful way.
In 2009, 12 Alberta municipalities requested that the Province strike a renewable energy task force. The provincial government declined the requests, declaring such a task force unnecessary. Meanwhile, citizens, companies, municipalities and non-profits continue developing the mainstays of a green energy act that would suit Alberta. This tour will support such efforts.
Although Alberta's Micro-Generation Regulation enables 134 small facilities to feed electricity onto the grid, the Regulation guarantees neither an appropriate price nor a long-term contract.
Developing low impact sources of renewable electricity is a cornerstone of diversifying and greening Alberta's economy. The tour will highlight the local and regional economic benefits available to all Albertans.
Where?
The tour will focus primarily on southern Alberta, including such places as Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Brooks and so on. Northern Albert locations are also in our scope, however, and indeed the first tour stop was in Viking. Most of the locations and dates remain to be finalized. Contact us to request a tour stop in your community.
When
The tour is now underway and will continue at least until the end of 2010.
Who
Pembina Institute staff member and Alberta Acts project coordinator, Greg Powell, is leading the tour with Alberta Acts' Community Green Energy Analyst, Ben Thibault, who focuses specifically on community economic development as it relates to low impact renewables. Tim Weis and Kristi Anderson, respective director and analyst of Pembina's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency group will play key roles on the tour. Alberta Acts project lead and social work professor, Mishka Lysack, will also be involved.
