For the first time in more than 125 years Alberta has gone without coal to generate electricity.The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is reporting the grid officially went for 11 hours without any coal-fired power at all on February 2 from the Genesee 1 and 2 plants west of Edmonton for the first time.It happened again for 48 hours between March 4 and 6..It’s the first time Alberta has gone without coal-fired power generation since the first coal electricity plant was built by the Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company in 1891 and the first time since former premier Rachel Notley announced plans to retire all coal units in 2015.“Alberta’s reliance on coal as a key fuel source for domestic electricity generation is fast coming to a close, ending a century-plus-long legacy,” AESO said on its website. “Over the past six years, the shift away from coal has been dramatic.”.Although it’s a bit of a technicality to say that Alberta is officially off coal — it still comes on as an intermittent backup when needed — observers say it marks the end of an long era before the Genesee plants are officially converted to natural gas later this year, six years ahead of schedule.“In 2024, it is expected that the remaining coal assets will be converted to natural gas,” AESO said.Back in 1985, coal was still supplying about 80% of Alberta’s electricity before renewables supplanted it in 2022. Now, the lion’s share comes from natural gas, which averages about 60%..Consequently, Alberta’s power emissions have fallen more than 40% since 2005, according to AESO numbers.And the shortfall in coal is expected to be made up from ever-increasing amounts of wind and solar. Wind capacity is expected to more than triple over the next few years while solar will grow by a factor of 10..The AESO expects those two sources will comprise about a third of Alberta’s electricity supply by 2026.And despite the UCP moratorium on renewables, Western Canada and especially Alberta accounted for about 98% of Canada’s total growth, according to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
For the first time in more than 125 years Alberta has gone without coal to generate electricity.The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is reporting the grid officially went for 11 hours without any coal-fired power at all on February 2 from the Genesee 1 and 2 plants west of Edmonton for the first time.It happened again for 48 hours between March 4 and 6..It’s the first time Alberta has gone without coal-fired power generation since the first coal electricity plant was built by the Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company in 1891 and the first time since former premier Rachel Notley announced plans to retire all coal units in 2015.“Alberta’s reliance on coal as a key fuel source for domestic electricity generation is fast coming to a close, ending a century-plus-long legacy,” AESO said on its website. “Over the past six years, the shift away from coal has been dramatic.”.Although it’s a bit of a technicality to say that Alberta is officially off coal — it still comes on as an intermittent backup when needed — observers say it marks the end of an long era before the Genesee plants are officially converted to natural gas later this year, six years ahead of schedule.“In 2024, it is expected that the remaining coal assets will be converted to natural gas,” AESO said.Back in 1985, coal was still supplying about 80% of Alberta’s electricity before renewables supplanted it in 2022. Now, the lion’s share comes from natural gas, which averages about 60%..Consequently, Alberta’s power emissions have fallen more than 40% since 2005, according to AESO numbers.And the shortfall in coal is expected to be made up from ever-increasing amounts of wind and solar. Wind capacity is expected to more than triple over the next few years while solar will grow by a factor of 10..The AESO expects those two sources will comprise about a third of Alberta’s electricity supply by 2026.And despite the UCP moratorium on renewables, Western Canada and especially Alberta accounted for about 98% of Canada’s total growth, according to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
