Alberta is in a solar power gold rush — and there are lessons for the rest of Canada | 24CA News

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Happy holidays, What on Earth? readers! We’ll be again in your inbox on Jan. 12.

This week:

• Alberta is in a solar energy gold rush — and there are classes for the remainder of Canada
• The world in response to fish
• Looking again on the yr in climate

Alberta is in a solar energy gold rush — and there are classes for the remainder of Canada

Growing up close to Fort McMurray, Alta., Randall Benson began working within the oilsands like lots of his relations. However, within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, the lengthy hours and ecological impacts of the business had him rethinking his occupation. 

“I just found it counterintuitive to how I was raised to respect our environment, and so I made a decision to find something that was kind of opposite,” stated Benson, now 52. 

The “opposite” turned out to be photo voltaic power, which he realized about whereas flipping by means of {a magazine} after transferring to Edmonton.

About 25 years later, Benson is happy to see utility-scale photo voltaic initiatives booming — a welcome addition to the residential and neighborhood photo voltaic installations his firm, Gridworks Energy, builds. Benson is engaged on a mission commissioned by the Métis Nation of Alberta, of which he’s a member, designed to generate sufficient energy for 1,200 houses. 

It’s a part of a renewable power growth in a province world-famous for its oil reserves. 

There’s “almost gold rush-level activity for solar” in Alberta, stated Sara Hastings-Simon, assistant professor on the University of Calgary and an professional in power and local weather coverage. “The majority of solar that we have in the system in Alberta today was installed in 2021-2022. So this is a really very recent phenomenon.” 

According to analysis by Hastings-Simon and colleagues, in 2021, renewables — photo voltaic, wind and hydro mixed — accounted for 14.3 per cent of electrical energy on the Alberta grid, in comparison with lower than three per cent in 2002. She expects that quantity to extend for 2022. 

Hastings-Simon stated a number of components helped create the circumstances for this development in solar energy. 

Alberta and Ontario are the one Canadian provinces with deregulated wholesale power markets. While a authorities with a regulated electrical energy market may resolve to construct renewables, Hastings-Simon stated {that a} deregulated system permits for these initiatives to maneuver ahead due to open competitors amongst power suppliers and a straightforward route for firms to buy renewable energy immediately. 

The Alberta Electric System Operator is a not-for-profit group that purchases energy from an open market; the value of electrical energy adjustments hourly, set by provide and demand, Hastings-Simon stated. 

According to Natural Resources Canada, Alberta — specifically the south of the province — has nice potential for solar energy era. Despite the huge useful resource and an open market, photo voltaic growth was caught in a little bit of a “chicken-and-egg” scenario, with out something to kick-start initiatives, stated Hastings-Simon.

When NDP Leader Rachel Notley was premier, the province began a renewable electrical energy program, and whereas solely wind initiatives had been chosen, it despatched a message to company patrons {that a} renewable power market was beginning to take off within the province. 

In 2018, the province put out a request for photo voltaic initiatives to energy Alberta authorities services. This “helped to break that chicken-and-egg cycle,” stated Hastings-Simon. The provincial authorities’s renewable power procurement in flip sparked an “uptick in interest of so-called non-utility procurement.”

In different phrases, as a substitute of shopping for electrical energy from their utility, extra firms and organizations are opting to work immediately with renewable power builders to safe electrical energy at a assured value. This additionally works out properly for renewable power builders, who need to deal with variable charges after they promote energy to the province. 

For some firms, there was one other incentive: below the federal carbon tax, photo voltaic can be utilized as an offset so as to adjust to the price of carbon air pollution. 

With the value of photo voltaic power itself dropping, the impact was “the perfect storm” for a growth in photo voltaic growth, stated Hastings-Simon. 

Much of the expansion is going on in southern Alberta. That contains Canada’s largest photo voltaic farm thus far, the Travers Solar Project in Vulcan County, which signed an settlement to promote electrical energy on to Amazon. 

The burst of photo voltaic exercise has been welcome financially for Vulcan County. In latest years, some fossil gas firms have walked away from properties, leaving excellent tax payments unpaid, ensuing within the county slicing its price range by 30 per cent, stated the county’s reeve, Jason Schneider. 

According to Schneider, tax from renewable power initiatives makes up 45 per cent of the county’s income: about 25 per cent of which is photo voltaic and 20 per cent wind. 

“It subsidizes everything,” he stated. “It’s paying for libraries, it’s paying for roads, it’s paying for bridges.”

Hastings-Simon stated the following hurdle the province might face can be maintaining with the capability for photo voltaic initiatives to hook up with the grid. 

She factors to Texas for example of how one can proceed. With a number of photo voltaic potential, the state determined to “build transmission lines on the assumption that if we build it, developers will come and build renewable projects when they have that opportunity to interconnect [to the grid].” 

When it involves the place public cash can finest be put to make use of to maintain photo voltaic’s momentum going, she stated transmission traces are “the biggest bang for the buck.”

— Molly Segal

Reader suggestions

Nicole Mortillaro’s story on plastic waste within the hashish business struck a nerve with some readers. 

Sherry Boschman:

“Why not sell cannabis bulk — people bring their own containers and the clerks measure it in? No waste, no worry!”

Vivian Unger: 

“I found a great solution to all the plastic waste that comes with government cannabis: I buy from grey-market Indigenous dealers. Their weed is available in bulk in big glass jars. It’s just what I imagined legalization would be like, before the disappointing reality set in.

“Seriously, many of the government-mandated plastic packaging is pointless.… There’s a stable argument to be made for placing packaging like that round edibles. Not bud. It’s simply silly.”

Marie Eve:

“I’m glad to learn that folks have been involved about this challenge. I’ve discovered it horrifying to witness how a lot plastic waste was generated at our native dispensaries since they’ve opened. I’m curious as to why nobody in your article talked about aluminum? Beer firms and the like have switched from glass bottles to aluminum cans in massive numbers over time as a result of, as we all know, aluminum may be recycled indefinitely.

“Why not make the cannabis containers out of aluminum, with a recycling option at the cannabis stores or perhaps simply through our curbside recycling pickup?  Maybe I am missing something here, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me.”

Old problems with What on Earth? are proper right here.

24CA News has a devoted local weather web page, which may be discovered right here.

Also, try our radio present and podcast. This week, we go on a journey to uncover what occurred to Canada’s once-glorious passenger rail service, and discover whether or not getting it again could possibly be a local weather resolution. What On Earth airs on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET, 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app or hear it on demand at CBC Listen.

The Big Picture: Reimagining the oceans

Just a little environmental humour to finish the yr.

Hot and bothered: Provocative concepts from across the internet

• Stephen Guilbeault as soon as hung off the CN Tower to agitate for extra motion on saving the planet — now, he is the federal atmosphere minister. Here’s a take a look at the wins and compromises of his first yr as minister.

• Will it snow this Christmas? It’s a perennial query. This CBC interactive permits you to submit your postal code to calculate your possibilities of seeing white stuff, whereas analyzing longer-term local weather tendencies.

2022: The yr in climate

While 2022 wasn’t as unhealthy weather-wise as 2021, Canadians nonetheless endured some difficult circumstances. Here are the highest local weather and climate tales from the previous 12 months. 

Furious Fiona

The No. 1 climate story in Canada this yr was Hurricane Fiona.

The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was a quiet one at first, however by the start of September, the primary hurricane — Danielle — fashioned within the North Atlantic Ocean, adopted by Hurricane Earl. Then, issues actually ramped up.

Fiona fashioned as a tropical melancholy within the mid-Atlantic on Sept. 14 and shortly strengthened. It devastated Turks and Caicos, components of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, reaching Category 3 storm standing. It ultimately moved north, merged with one other climate system and hit Nova Scotia as a post-tropical storm. 

Though Fiona was downgraded to post-tropical, it did not imply there was aid. Atlantic Canada skilled heavy rains, robust winds and unbelievable storm surges. Homes had been swept out to sea. The Atlantic provinces and Quebec noticed sustained winds of 100 km/h for six to 12 hours, stated Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

At its peak, rainfall surpassed 30 millimetres per hour, with complete rainfall reaching wherever from 80 to 150 millimetres. Three folks died and greater than 600,000 houses and companies misplaced energy.

Billion-dollar derecho

A derecho is a long-lived, straight-lined wind occasion that may typically accompany a line of thunderstorms.

On May 21, a derecho fashioned in southwestern Ontario and simply saved transferring. In Ontario, three tornadoes had been reported in Uxbridge and London; a few of the peak wind gusts had been at Lake Memphremagog in Quebec, at 144 km/h.

The derecho felled bushes, took down energy traces and resulted within the deaths of 11 folks. In the top, a couple of million insurance coverage claims had been filed, topping $1 billion in damages. In phrases of insured losses, it ranked because the sixth-largest climate occasion in Canadian historical past. 

Manitoba’s drenching spring

At first, it did not seem like Manitoba’s flood season could be a lot worse than different years, Phillips stated. But by May 1, six moist climate methods had moved by means of components of the province, following vital winter snowfall within the south. Most areas acquired roughly 150 centimetres of snow, the province’s third-highest snowfall since 1872.

Forty-five municipalities and 9 First Nation communities needed to declare states of emergency as floodwaters washed out roads, flooded properties and threatened ingesting water.

Late-season warmth

From the center of August to October, greater than 500 most each day temperature data had been overwhelmed in Western Canada. 

Lytton, B.C. — the positioning of final yr’s disastrous fireplace and the place of Canada’s highest temperature ever recorded, at 49.6 C — broke one other document: 39.6 C, the best temperature ever recorded in B.C. in September.

Wildfires on two coasts

Lytton was the main target in July as properly, with a serious fireplace breaking out simply west of the village. By July 27, greater than 100 folks had been pressured from their houses. More fires continued to rage, together with close to Penticton, B.C.

Meanwhile, central Newfoundland noticed its worst wildfire season in 60 years resulting from hotter-than-normal temperatures and dry circumstances. One fireplace grew to 172 sq. kilometres, whereas one other reached 56 sq. kilometres. 

Wintry spring in B.C.

After a brutal 2021, British Columbians might have been trying ahead to a break. Unfortunately, spring was cool and moist and fairly overcast. On April 16, 27 minimal low-temperature data had been set, together with in Vancouver, which had its coldest day since record-keeping started in 1892.

The cooler, wetter circumstances meant low flood threat and a late begin to the hearth season. However, it wasn’t good news for farmers: it was too chilly to plant, too moist to plant — after which it was each.

Super storms within the Prairies

July introduced 4 highly effective storms to the Prairies that included heavy rain, robust winds, massive hail and tornadoes, stretching from the foothills of Alberta to jap Manitoba.

On July 7, throughout a robust thunderstorm, an EF-2 twister touched down in Bergen, Alta.; EF-2 storms have sustained winds of 179 to 218 km/h.

Montreal swamped by rain

On Sept. 13, Montreal and a few surrounding areas skilled a deluge. Moisture introduced up from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean dumped 80 to 100 millimetres of rain in simply two hours. 

The rain snarled visitors and interrupted service on Montreal’s Metro practice system after water flowed into a number of stations. It’s estimated that the occasion price $180 million in insured losses.

Record-breaking chilly

From B.C. to Saskatchewan to components of Manitoba to northern Ontario, there have been chilly climate alerts galore in January 2022, with wind chills placing it within the vary of –40 C to –55 C. Outdoor occasions had been cancelled and emergency shelters had been arrange. Some automobile batteries could not hack it and died. 

But it was the Yukon the place temperatures actually plummeted. Between Jan. 5 and seven, Whitehorse skilled its coldest temperature in roughly 17 years: –44.6 C. And Watson Lake reached a record-breaking –52.2 C on Jan. 6.

January storms stress Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canadians had a harsh begin to 2022 themselves. Three storms arrived with both rain or snow, together with wind, pummelling the realm starting on Jan. 7.

The first introduced as much as 30 to 50 centimetres of snow to northern Cape Breton, together with 80 km/h winds. The subsequent day, it was Newfoundland’s south coast that received hit with a nor’easter, dumping 45 centimetres of heavy snow.

On Jan. 15, one other storm hit components of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Cape Breton as soon as once more received hit with heavy precipitation within the type of 84 millimetres of rain and an extra 11 centimetres of snow.

Finally, a 3rd storm left greater than 60,000 Nova Scotians with out energy.

— Nicole Mortillaro

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