Alberta premier tells climate conference renewable-powered grid by 2035 'fantasy thinking'
CBC
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told delegates at a climate conference in Calgary on Thursday that achieving an electricity grid that depends on renewable power by 2035 is "fantasy thinking."
Smith has said achieving that target in 12 years could lead to power blackouts because Alberta wouldn't have a reliable source of baseload power, such as natural gas.
Her government has argued for a net-zero grid by 2050.
"Does anyone think it would be possible to get all of the siting decisions, the regulatory, First Nations, the different levels of landowner consultation, the environmental issues — does anyone think that would be possible to get that built in 12 years, starting now?" she asked those in attendance at the 2023 Climate Summit in Calgary.
"Yes," responded many people in the audience, which included clean energy experts from industry, government and universities, as well as Indigenous and rural communities.
Smith then asked those in attendance what they knew that her "industry experts" don't know and questioned what Alberta would do when there is no sun and no wind. Someone in the audience yelled out: "Batteries."
"Let's talk about batteries for a minute, because I know everybody thinks this economy is going to be operated on wind and solar and battery power, and it cannot," said Smith.
"We need legitimate, real solutions that rely on baseload power rather than fantasy thinking."
WATCH | See the exchange Premier Danielle Smith had at the climate summit:
A spokeswoman for Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an email that the overall federal net-zero target is 2050, just like Alberta.
"In fact, there is a major new gas plant that came online which could run until 2043 under the clean electricity regulations," wrote Kaitlin Power, referring to the 2035 energy grid target.
"The draft regulations are designed with at least 12 years before they come into effect, giving time to attract investment and adjust decision-making.
"Because of the flexibilities we've built in, there is no cliff for natural gas plants. In their current draft form, regulations would permit 73 existing natural gas plants to continue operating in Alberta in some capacity beyond 2035, representing over half of baseload capacity."
Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said she worries about Smith's message to Albertans.
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