Alberta renewable energy surge could power 4,500 jobs
JUNE 14, 2022
Corporate investment in renewable energy in Alberta has soared since 2019, with enough capacity added to increase output by two gigawatts, equivalent to powering 1.5 million homes. Business Renewables Centre Canada estimates $3.7 billion worth of renewables construction by 2023 and the creation of 4,500 jobs. Companies from across Canada are signing power purchase agreements directly with private power producers to buy renewable energy or offset credits. Alberta’s open market for electricity is unique in Canada and provides financial security to producers to build more renewable projects.
Published by
The Narwhal
Alberta has seen a massive increase in corporate investment in renewable energy since 2019, and capacity from those deals is set to increase output by two gigawatts — enough to power roughly 1.5 million homes.
Alberta has seen a massive increase in corporate investment in renewable energy since 2019, and capacity from those deals is set to increase output by two gigawatts — enough to power roughly 1.5 million homes.
“Our analysis shows $3.7 billion worth of renewables construction by 2023 and 4,500 jobs,” Nagwan Al-Guneid, the director of Business Renewables Centre Canada, says.
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The centre is an initiative of the environmental think tank Pembina Institute and provides education and guidance for companies looking to invest in renewable energy or energy offsets across Canada. Its membership is made up of renewable energy companies.
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The addition of two gigawatts is over two times the amount of renewable energy added to the grid between 2010 and 2017, according to the Canadian Energy Regulator.
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“This is driven directly by what we call power purchase agreements,” Al-Guneid says. “We have companies from across the country coming to Alberta.”
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So far this year, 191 megawatts of renewable energy will be added through purchase agreements, according to the Business Renewables Centre.
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Alberta’s electricity system is unique in Canada — an open market where companies can ink deals directly with private power producers to buy a set amount of electricity produced each year, either for use or for offset credits. The financial security provided by those contracts helps producers build out more renewable projects without market risks. Purchasers get cheap renewable energy or credits to meet internal or external emissions goals.
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It differs from other provinces where there is a monopoly, often government-owned, on power supply.
In those provinces, investment in renewables largely depends on whether the company with the monopoly is in a buying mood, says Blake Shaffer, an economics professor at the University of Calgary who studies electricity markets.