We’ve recently reached a remarkable inflection point in Alberta’s electricity generation industry. There are only three coal power plants still in operation — Genesee 1, 2 and 3 — all of which are currently being repurposed to natural gas by Edmonton-based Capital Power.
Coal was the backbone of Alberta’s electricity generation for the majority of its history, accounting for 81 per cent of generation in 2001. That is down to roughly 20 per cent today and soon that will be reduced to zero. This transformation has occurred on the backdrop of retrofitting old coal plants to natural gas, as well as a proliferation of renewable energy generation, primarily from wind and solar power.
Wind generation in Alberta already has the capacity to produce more electricity than coal during high performance periods and solar is quickly catching up. This is great news for Alberta’s carbon footprint, but it is also great news for the regional economy and your wallet.
According to Rystad Energy, a European analytics firm, Alberta’s renewable capacity was 0.1 gigawatt (GW) of solar in 2020 and is expected to grow to 1.8GW by 2025. That’s over 10 per cent of the roughly 16GW of total generating capacity installed today. Felix Tan, an analyst at Rystad Energy, forecasts that Alberta will have the largest combined total of utility-scale wind and solar capacity in the country by the middle of the decade.
An RBC report notes there are 61 solar projects underway in the province, which are projected to add 1,200 megawatts (MW) of solar generation capacity by 2023. The largest of these is the Traverse project in Vulcan county, which will have approximately 1.3 million solar panels and generate enough electricity to power 150,000 homes. The solar farm is being developed by Calgary based Greengate Power Corporation and will be the largest solar farm in the country, adding numerous jobs and providing tax revenues and land payments to the local economy. In June of 2021, Amazon announced a power purchase agreement to buy up to 400MW annually, as part of their commitment to be net zero by 2030.
The solar business has been booming for David Kelly, founder and CEO of SkyFire Energy. Kelly says, “Solar energy has been shown to produce many more jobs than carbon-based electricity generation production plants.” There are more than 8000 solar installer jobs in Alberta today, with an average salary as high as $30 an hour, and countless secondary jobs employing engineers, technicians, project managers and construction managers. Solar industry jobs also include marketing professionals, salespeople and other positions in downstream industries such as solar module recycling.
The Citizens Climate Lobby, an international grassroots environmental group, points out that renewable electricity is already cost-competitive with fossil-generated power in many locations, and the renewables industry provides 50 per cent more jobs, at similar pay, for the same amount of energy produced.
According to solar provider Neighbour Energy, a homeowner can expect to save an average of $660 per year in electricity costs for a payback period of 12 to 20 years. A $5,000 federal grant is available, along with municipal loans under the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP).
These savings assume an average installation of 20 solar panels can produce 6000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity per year, where the homeowner consumes 4500kwh and exports 1500kwh back to the grid during times of excess production.
Kelly points out, “It is hard to get your head around megawatts, gigawatts, kilowatt-hours and so on. . . But for the average person, they see the benefit on their utility bill and their savings.
It will be the cost savings that get people adopting solar energy and electric vehicles in Alberta. With all the solar projects currently underway, the potential for future investment in the industry — and the economic benefits in terms of jobs and lower costs to consumers — solar energy is just starting to boom. What better time to re-invest oil and gas revenues into what is fast becoming Alberta’s green energy future?
Donald MacCallum is a spokesman for Eco-Elders for Climate Action.
This blog post originally appeared in the Calgary Herald as an op-ed. Read it here.