The province’s “green” power plan for government buildings is commendable, but it falls far short of stimulating Alberta’s renewable energy industry, says an environmental think-tank.
Alberta Environment Minister Lorne Taylor said more than 90 per cent of the electricity used in government-owned facilities will come from clean renewable energy sources, starting in 2005.
This is more green power than any other province has committed to, Taylor said.
Matthew Bramley, director, climate change for the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development, praised the government for setting a good example for other provinces and the private sector.
But the government’s electricity requirements are only a tiny fraction of the total electricity consumption in the province, he noted.
“The way to really have a major impact is for government to recognize that one of its key roles is to ensure that the market integrates environmental concerns,” Bramley said.
Alberta could effectively spur renewable energy development by implementing a Renewable Portfolio Standard, he said. This would legally require all private electricity generators to supply a minimum percentage of green power.
About 15 states in the U.S., including Texas, have enacted Renewable Portfolio Standards that have resulted in significant expansions of wind and solar power.
The Alberta government also could use financial incentives, such as tax credits, for renewable energy development, Bramley said.
So far, however, the province has refused to match a $265-million, five-year federal government incentive for Canadian wind-power developers. Ottawa had expected provinces to match its incentive, which is worth only about half of similar measures offered in the U.S. Alberta Environment spokesman Robert Moyles said the province’s climate change action plan further commits to increasing the amount of renewable energy generated in Alberta by about 3.5 per cent, to a total of about 12 per cent, by 2008.
Rather than legislation, the government prefers to use a voluntary approach – “backstopped” by regulations where necessary – to encourage companies to develop more green power and become more energy efficient, Moyles said.
He noted that when Alberta enacts its climate change legislation, it will set up a framework for incentives to develop more renewable energy, such as a provincial greenhouse gas emissions-trading program.
The green power for government-owned facilities will be supplied through long-term contracts with ENMAX Energy Corporation and Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. of Calgary.
Power from ENMAX will come from a new $100-million wind farm at McBride Lake, eight kilometres south of Fort MacLeod. The joint project between ENMAX and Vision Quest Windelectric Inc. will have 114 giant Vestas wind turbines, making it Canada’s largest wind farm.
As of last week, 32 of the turbines had been built, with 22 of them capable of generating enough energy to power about 6,600 homes annually.
Construction of the McBride Lake wind farm is scheduled to be completed by early summer, when the facility will produce enough electricity to power more than 32,500 homes annually.
Canadian Hydro will supply green power to the government from a new $57-million biomass plant near Grande Prairie.
Construction is scheduled to start this spring on the plant. The facility will burn bark and sawdust from two Canadian Forest Products International mills in the region to produce high-pressure steam that generates electricity.
The Alberta government will purchase about 210,000 megawatt-hours (MWH) of green power annually, split equally between ENMAX and Canadian Hydro. Currently, only 1,300 MWH – or just half a per cent – of the power in government-owned facilities comes from renewable energy sources.
Last week, a 23-module solar array started providing green energy to the Alberta legislature building in Edmonton. The project, a joint initiative of the provincial environment and infrastructure departments, can provide enough power to light 70 compact fluorescent light bulbs for about five hours a day – almost half the power used by an average household in a year.
