Phasing out coal in Alberta was supported by good policy design driven by carbon pricing and regulations with clear targets that offered necessary certainty to the industry and stakeholders

Archive: [ https://archive.is/sEZIL ]

Coal accounted for 80 per cent of Alberta’s electricity grid in the early 2000s and it still amounted to 60 per cent just 10 years ago. When phasing out coal was just an idea being batted around, many said it couldn’t be done. This is not dissimilar to the rhetoric today around decarbonizing the grid. But Alberta’s experience phasing out coal shows environmental progress of this magnitude is possible.

  • Troy
    27·
    5 months ago

    Great headline but doesn’t indicate what replaced it.

    Carbon dioxide still getting produced in massive quantities.

    Coal and other hydrocarbons still being produced for export. But, hey, if it gets burned in another jurisdiction that isn’t our problem, right? We will put up those glass barriers all the way to space so our atmospheres don’t mix.

    Southern Alberta is probably the best place in Canada for massive scale solar installations. Get on it.

    • Nik282000
      131·
      5 months ago

      Southern Alberta is probably the best place in Canada for massive scale solar installations. Get on it.

      Alberta declared solar panels “ugly” so they wont be installing them anymore.

      • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        5 months ago

        Alberta said that putting it on prime agricultural land needed some restrictions, and rightly so. The amount of good farmland that’s under solar panels now in south and central is disconcerting. There’s no end of shit land in Alberta that’s better suited to solar panels anyway.

        • Rob Bos
          2·
          5 months ago

          It goes to show how little they actually care about capitalism. If farmland is more productive (makes more money) producing solar, then capitalism would say turn it into solar.

          They’re literally stealing money from the farmers.

      • BCsven
        7·
        5 months ago

        Thats awesome, but leaves out the fact that BC and Ontario do it by Hydro Electric dams, so solar and wind is less attractive

        • dubyakay
          2·
          5 months ago

          Quebec does hydro. Ontario just calls it that, but majority comes from nuclear.

          It probably wasn’t that good for propaganda to call it “Nuclear One” when they’ve privatized the crown corporation.

          • BCsven
            1·
            5 months ago

            Ha yeah, Ontario says it is only 1/3rd actual hydro power

        • Troy
          2·
          5 months ago

          Manitoba too! Net exporter of hydro.

      • Troy
        2·
        5 months ago

        Battery storage, I presume. Many other provinces don’t need the storage due to the ability to vary the output from dams.