So is the pause on renewables over? This blog post argues it is not, and it's hard to argue their is much clarity for businesses to invest. What a clown show.
Quote:
While the official pause ended on February 29, we contend that continuing uncertainties and decisions yet to be made by the GoA and other government entities, including the AUC, constitute an effective and continuing de facto pause or moratorium. This is principally because investors, reasonably enough, will be reluctant to make investment decisions unless and until they know the new rules of the game. And the announcements on February 28 make it clear that it will be some time before the renewable sector will have the requisite certainty.
Here are just some examples taken from the press release and the Minister’s letter to the AUC of the extensive work that still needs to be undertaken:
- New AUC rules on municipal government standing and cost recovery;
- New AUC rules on reclamation and security requirements;
- New AUC rules on visual impact assessments;
- New AUC rules on agricultural soils;
- New GoA rules, including legislation and policy, to give effect to an Agriculture First Policy;
- New GoA rules, including legislation and policy, to give effect to reclamation security requirements;
- New GoA rules on pristine viewscapes, including buffer zones of a minimum 35 km around protected areas and other designated viewscapes;
- New GoA rules in relation to renewables on Crown lands;
- A new AUC proceeding to consider how landowners might be protected from future renewable projects; and
- A warning that the GoA will be coming out with a new transmission policy that will likely require renewable generation to assume a share of transmission (T) costs. For the most part T costs are currently assumed by load (customers) rather than generators. This is a very significant change in provincial policy.
|
https://ablawg.ca/2024/03/01/premier...tain-duration/
That last one is a bit of a doozy, no? How do you work out the economics for a project if you have zero certainty of additional costs that are probably going to be foisted on you? So this 7 month delay is going to stretch out a lot longer. It's a good thing no one has to worry about the spectre of free light bulbs anymore, though. Dodged that ####ing bullet.