Alberta’s government is worried that wind turbines could ruin the province’s million-dollar mountain views.
Driving the news: Alberta is proposing more restrictions on the renewable energy industry, saying its goal is to protect the province’s farmland, parks, and majestic views. The changes could make almost 40% of all Albertan land unavailable for renewable energy projects.
- The new restrictions, which have yet to be finalized, would block wind or solar farms from being built on irrigated land, grassland areas or sites within 35 kilometres of what the province deems “pristine viewscapes.”
Catch-up: Alberta’s relationship with renewables was getting a little too hot and heavy for the provincial government's liking, with over 90% of all new Canadian clean energy projects built in Alberta last year. That rapid growth has stoked fears of overdevelopment.
- Last August, the provincial government put a seven-month ban on all new renewable projects — a pause that led to ~53 wind and solar projects being abandoned.
- At the end of the ban, the province unveiled the first wave of restrictions which barred over a quarter of agricultural land from being turned into renewable energy farms.
Why it matters: Growing Alberta’s renewables industry is a key part of Canada’s climate ambitions, but more restrictions will threaten those already lofty clean energy goals.—LA