It is, of course, welcome news that the federal government has dropped the requirement for the nation’s energy grids to be carbon net-zero by 2035. The new goal is 2050, a feasible goal for Alberta, as Premier Danielle Smith has said before. And as a result, Albertans will be spared the higher energy costs that would have come with attempting an energy engineering 'mission impossible.'.BIG WIN FOR ALBERTA: Ottawa extends target for net-zero power grid by 15 years.All is well then?In the sense that whenever somebody who wants you to pick up dimes while wearing mitts comes to the realization that this doesn’t work and stops asking you to do it, yes, of course it’s good. For Alberta, it was never a realistic goal and in the pantheon of witless, ideology-driven ideas sired by Steven Guilbeault out of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada, this was perhaps the one that most resisted the facts of engineering.Furthermore, how Alberta powers itself is also none of Ottawa’s business under the Constitution, anyway.However, while the angels may eternally rejoice when a sinner turns from his wickedness, the citizens' rejoicing over the ascendancy of common sense and constitutionality should last no longer than it takes to vote from office the schlubs who ever thought this was a good idea.For those late to the game, much of Alberta’s electricity comes from CO2-producing natural gas generation. (Alberta’s last coal-fired generator was mothballed earlier this year.) In the view of Minister Guilbeault, Alberta needed to place greater reliance upon renewable power sources — principally wind turbines and solar — and thereby reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced to keep the lights on in Alberta.Many people consider that a worthwhile objective — in principle, at least.However, it is also the objective of the Government of Alberta to meet peak loads when the sun isn’t shining, the wind doesn’t blow and even if it is, it’s too cold for the turbines to operate. When that happens, it’s natural gas or freeze in the darkIt was this operational limitation that the Government of Canada has never conceded until this week.Significantly perhaps, it was Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, rather than Guilbeault, who confirmed the decision to the Reuters news agency: “I wouldn’t say we’ve backed off in terms of decarbonization of the grid, but we have learned through consultation that there was a need for some more flexibility.”Consultation, eh? Wilkinson continued, in words that could have been drafted by Premier Danielle Smith’s press office, “It can’t be just about reducing emissions. It has to be done in a manner that results in a reliable grid in all provinces and is affordable for ratepayers.”Quite.As Premier Smith says, “After years of watching the federal government gaslight Canadians about the feasibility of achieving a net-zero power grid by 2030, we are gratified to see Ottawa finally admit that the Government of Alberta’s plan to achieve a carbon neutral power grid by 2050 is a more responsible, affordable and realistic target.”That does leave outstanding the matter of Ottawa’s gratuitous interference in what the premier is pleased to call “Alberta’s lane.”This needs to be addressed. Provincial energy production and distribution is none of Ottawa's business. The smart course for Ottawa would be to just drop it but with an election on the horizon, such a climbdown is unlikely. Smith says she will force the issue in court, and she would be right to do so..As for Guilbeault, the government he serves has just repudiated one of his signature policies.It is not as if this was a sub-section of a policy of secondary importance. This was a main plank in his platform to combat climate change, up there with so-called clean fuels and the subsidization of carbon capture and storage. To borrow a concept from his colleagues in Finance, ‘a guardrail has been breached.’Should he not do the honourable thing and simply resign? I mean isn't that what you do if you're a Liberal minister and they repudiate your policies?You'd think.
It is, of course, welcome news that the federal government has dropped the requirement for the nation’s energy grids to be carbon net-zero by 2035. The new goal is 2050, a feasible goal for Alberta, as Premier Danielle Smith has said before. And as a result, Albertans will be spared the higher energy costs that would have come with attempting an energy engineering 'mission impossible.'.BIG WIN FOR ALBERTA: Ottawa extends target for net-zero power grid by 15 years.All is well then?In the sense that whenever somebody who wants you to pick up dimes while wearing mitts comes to the realization that this doesn’t work and stops asking you to do it, yes, of course it’s good. For Alberta, it was never a realistic goal and in the pantheon of witless, ideology-driven ideas sired by Steven Guilbeault out of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada, this was perhaps the one that most resisted the facts of engineering.Furthermore, how Alberta powers itself is also none of Ottawa’s business under the Constitution, anyway.However, while the angels may eternally rejoice when a sinner turns from his wickedness, the citizens' rejoicing over the ascendancy of common sense and constitutionality should last no longer than it takes to vote from office the schlubs who ever thought this was a good idea.For those late to the game, much of Alberta’s electricity comes from CO2-producing natural gas generation. (Alberta’s last coal-fired generator was mothballed earlier this year.) In the view of Minister Guilbeault, Alberta needed to place greater reliance upon renewable power sources — principally wind turbines and solar — and thereby reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced to keep the lights on in Alberta.Many people consider that a worthwhile objective — in principle, at least.However, it is also the objective of the Government of Alberta to meet peak loads when the sun isn’t shining, the wind doesn’t blow and even if it is, it’s too cold for the turbines to operate. When that happens, it’s natural gas or freeze in the darkIt was this operational limitation that the Government of Canada has never conceded until this week.Significantly perhaps, it was Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, rather than Guilbeault, who confirmed the decision to the Reuters news agency: “I wouldn’t say we’ve backed off in terms of decarbonization of the grid, but we have learned through consultation that there was a need for some more flexibility.”Consultation, eh? Wilkinson continued, in words that could have been drafted by Premier Danielle Smith’s press office, “It can’t be just about reducing emissions. It has to be done in a manner that results in a reliable grid in all provinces and is affordable for ratepayers.”Quite.As Premier Smith says, “After years of watching the federal government gaslight Canadians about the feasibility of achieving a net-zero power grid by 2030, we are gratified to see Ottawa finally admit that the Government of Alberta’s plan to achieve a carbon neutral power grid by 2050 is a more responsible, affordable and realistic target.”That does leave outstanding the matter of Ottawa’s gratuitous interference in what the premier is pleased to call “Alberta’s lane.”This needs to be addressed. Provincial energy production and distribution is none of Ottawa's business. The smart course for Ottawa would be to just drop it but with an election on the horizon, such a climbdown is unlikely. Smith says she will force the issue in court, and she would be right to do so..As for Guilbeault, the government he serves has just repudiated one of his signature policies.It is not as if this was a sub-section of a policy of secondary importance. This was a main plank in his platform to combat climate change, up there with so-called clean fuels and the subsidization of carbon capture and storage. To borrow a concept from his colleagues in Finance, ‘a guardrail has been breached.’Should he not do the honourable thing and simply resign? I mean isn't that what you do if you're a Liberal minister and they repudiate your policies?You'd think.
