Alberta government proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar energy

The Alberta government is proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar farms that conservationists think are more about limiting renewable energy than protecting the environment.

The Alberta government is proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar farms that conservationists think are more about limiting renewable energy than protecting the environment.

Last year the Alberta government imposed a seven-month moratorium on new renewable energy projects, after which Premier Danielle Smith announced her government would be taking an "agriculture first" approach to regulating renewable energy project locations.

That approach includes preventing renewable energy projects from being within 35 kilometres of "pristine viewscapes" and parks and protected areas, and a near total ban where soil conditions are prime for yielding crops.

“We need to ensure that we’re not sacrificing our future agricultural yields, or tourism dollars, or breathtaking viewscapes to rush renewables developments,” Smith said at the time.

Critics of the sudden moratorium and new renewable energy-only restrictions, such as Alberta Wildnerness Association conservationist Ruiping Luo, have said that the United Conservative government is being heavy-handed.

"It seems very clear that this is not about environmental protection," said Luo.

Back in February Smith also said the government was planning to go beyond viewscapes and cropland and would consider imposing further restrictions related to Alberta's native grassland areas and irrigated and irrigable land.