Alberta releases new rules and no-go zones for renewable energy projects
Global News
Renewable energy projects won't be allowed on top grade agricultural land unless developers can prove the projects can productively coexist with livestock and crops.
The Alberta government has confirmed new rules for wind and solar energy projects it says are needed to protect the environment, food security and the province’s scenery.
The new Electric Energy Land Use and Visual Assessment Regulation stem from Premier Danielle Smith’s February announcement that Alberta was going to take an “agriculture first” approach towards renewable energy development moving forward following the government-imposed seven-month moratorium on project approvals in 2023.
Among the new regulations is a prohibition on wind projects within a specified 70,000-square-kilometre “buffer zone” that surrounds the Rocky Mountains and reaches to the western half of Calgary, according to a map published by the government Friday.
Renewable energy projects also won’t be allowed on top-grade agricultural land unless developers can prove the projects can productively coexist with livestock and crops.
Renewable, and non-renewable, electricity projects located in other select areas — including around Cypress Hills provincial park and large pockets of southern Alberta — will need to be assessed for their effect on landscape views before possible approval.
According to the government’s map, more than 82,000 square kilometres of the province is covered under this visual impact consideration.
The new regulations state projects in these areas will require “visual impact assessments,” wherein project proponents will have to demonstrate to the Alberta Utilities Commission, the provincial utilities regulator, what effect the proposed development will have on the surrounding area.
The regulations state that these assessments must include “visual simulations from key vantage points” as well as potential mitigation measures that could be taken.
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