Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Doctorfever]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think we should introduce a maximum voting age of 50 in Alberta, for the betterment of Albertans.

Before anybody whines about it, let’s just see how it turns out first.

How old are you?

[flamesfever]

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

3. To give the people directly affected more of a voice in the development.

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

[Whynotnow]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

3. To give the people directly affected more of a voice in the development.

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

That was some of the supposed reasoning but as time goes on it seems much more driven by ideology.

The third one is interesting because unlike oil and gas wells where the landowners can’t stop a well on their land if they don’t own the mineral rights, nobody can force you to lease your land for solar development. So the landowner already has more rights than oil and gas.

For the second, that should be a concern, but given the massive unfunded pipeline facility abandonment liability in this province and the fact there was never a pause to deal with that, I lean once again towards ideology.

I still firmly believe every one of the supposed issues have had plenty of time to be resolved by the same party that’s in power today, and that a moratorium was in no way needed to deal with them.

[Doctorfever]

If you’re not sure why we are pausing, search Frequitude’s posts in this thread and read them. He does a great job (along with others) of laying out why.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

As I understand it, this is the responsibility of municipalities under the development permit process.

Sidenote: the field of agrivoltaics has already discovered the cattle like the shaded pasture of a solar farm. They counter eye blinks, head shakes and a bunch of other things to prove it.

Apparently cattle still don't do well downwing of a leaky natural gas well.

[Stewie991]

Originally Posted by Doctorfever

How old are you?

36. Let’s stop at 45! Cause if you don’t have your ducks in a row by then. You shouldn’t get to vote!

[FacePaint]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

3. To give the people directly affected more of a voice in the development.

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

I don't think anyone disagrees with doing these items for ALL energy initiatives. The issue is that there's no reason to pause and create investor uncertainty to existing applications while doing the review.

[Whynotnow]

Originally Posted by Doctorfever

If you’re not sure why we are pausing, search Frequitude’s posts in this thread and read them. He does a great job (along with others) of laying out why.

Frequitudes posts are excellent in the matter, I also don’t fully agree with him that the pause was the answer.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Faust

Mark Z. Jacobson
New @FERC rule could lead to a massive change in America’s energy grid:

2,000 GW (2 TW) of solar, wind, and battery projects waiting in the U.S. connection queue

Under new rule, projects will be studied in groups rather than individually

https://twitter.com/mzjacobson/statu...793975777?s=21


Jason Markusoff

While Alberta slams brakes, US solar/wind regulation floors it.

https://twitter.com/markusoff/status...569616656?s=21

The idea that there's 2,000 GW of installs waiting for approval is quite misleading. There's zero doubt that the number 1, 2, and 3 problem for renewable growth in the US is connection approvals, most deals apply for connection in multiple spots the increase the odds of approval so there's lots of duplication in the number

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

Should we pause all projects that require remediation and cleanup until this step is properly dealt with?

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

Moving at ‘The Speed of Business’ indeed. Is the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction Department taking the lead on this by chance?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

But then, don't listen to me, a dirty ctiy dweller. Listen to the rural municipalities who are also callnig this bull####. You know, the ones she claims to have listened to before doing this. If you are dumb enough to believe anything she tells you(and at this point, yes, that does make you dumb, sorry if the truth is uncomfortable).

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...952038?cmp=rss

It is too bad that the Caroline solar project is so far behind schedule because it could have avoided these regulatory delays is it was commissioned for Q2 2022 as originally anticipated. Or even if it was ready for Q4 2023 in updated timelines but they finally submitted their application in July, 2023.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

It is too bad that the Caroline solar project is so far behind schedule because it could have avoided these regulatory delays is it was commissioned for Q2 2022 as originally anticipated. Or even if it was ready for Q4 2023 in updated timelines but they finally submitted their application in July, 2023.

And I'm sure if there was some sort of advanced notice and industry consultation, they would have. Nothing like being blindsided by an irrational government. It's cool though, because we can just wait and see what the impact is.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

3. To give the people directly affected more of a voice in the development.

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

I am sick of city slickers trying to make arguments on behalf of farmers. farmers have been implimenting solar for a decade, if you drive around to farms. not acreages!, farms, you will that the south side of barns are covered in solar panels. Farmers have always been early adaptors of technology, especially ones that make their operation profitable.

Show me an instance of a solar project on pause right now that is in prime crop land, and I will show you an acreage that isn't.

Its not about land use. It's about suburban oil and gas worker ideology.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I mean, you are either on the side of most experts and smart people, or Danielle Smith and Rob Anders. I know it's a tough choice, but you are welcome to re-think it.


Snark aside, if this turns into another Danielle Debacle, will you admit it AND use that to influence your future judgment?

Wrong Rob, Rob Anders was the conservative who hated Nelson Mandela. Rob Anderson is the conservative who hates clean energy.

[fotze2]

As someone in the patch, the "pause" seems a little suspect. Zero doubt it is politically motivated. Ya having too much solar/wind intermittent can make things a lot trickier but that's not why they said the pause is there.

The reclamation/decommissioning lack of regs are a black eye and have been known for 40 years and ignored (mostly due to industry CNRL/Cenovus lobbying). This should not be a partisan issue. It would make my life so much easier if we were forced at some point to reclaim leases, but currently I have to "manage them" which is a giant pain in the ass comopared to just cleaning spending the money.

Make it a regulation if the windmill is down for X years it needs to be repaired or dismantled. Its all above ground, not various plumes of contaminants from 70 years ago floating below the surface randomly with rain.

Not just the UCP, the NDP government gave TAQA $10MM for Acid Gas injection whose entire economics were based on the deferring the cleanup of a $75MM sulfalene plume under the Crossfield gas plant.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

My understanding was that the "Pause" was made with the following purposes in mind:

1. To further decide what lands were open for solar panel development, in order to preserve the areas best suited for agriculture due to a higher grade of soil.

2. To arrange for a system to hold back funds for eventual removal and recycling of the solar panels.

3. To give the people directly affected more of a voice in the development.

4 So that the development would go forward in a more orderly manner.

Working in the current (previous) environment was already pretty challenging to get a Wind/Solar development off the ground. Landowners have huge amounts of power, they can basically say no and thats it, there's no right of expropriation for these things. 'More voice in the development' = no more development, in my experience. If you work in the AB rural infrastructure consultation game, everyone has an issue with everything.

I would say about 80% of the projects I've worked on over 17 years were cancelled due to difficult regulatory/stakeholder environment, including huge hundred-million dollar transmission projects.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I am sick of city slickers trying to make arguments on behalf of farmers. farmers have been implimenting solar for a decade, if you drive around to farms. not acreages!, farms, you will that the south side of barns are covered in solar panels. Farmers have always been early adaptors of technology, especially ones that make their operation profitable.

Show me an instance of a solar project on pause right now that is in prime crop land, and I will show you an acreage that isn't.

Its not about land use. It's about suburban oil and gas worker ideology.

And we are sick of you stealing our solar panels and your crackhead kids stealing our wires. HAHA.

That's a running joke, if you are gonna put solar on your wellsite, get out the binoculars and see the landowners nearby and buy them some solar panels because yours will be gone in a month.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

It is too bad that the Caroline solar project is so far behind schedule because it could have avoided these regulatory delays is it was commissioned for Q2 2022 as originally anticipated. Or even if it was ready for Q4 2023 in updated timelines but they finally submitted their application in July, 2023.

Sounds like the project must have gone through a rigorous process to ensure all stakeholders were thoughtfully considered and concerns addressed.

The only issue here is that the regulator has failed to anticipate and manage the evolving market. Of course that's not an easy job...but it's pretty much their only job. It sure must be nice to #### the bed and then get a 7 month break to clean it up.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by fotze2

And we are sick of you stealing our solar panels and your crackhead kids stealing our wires. HAHA.

That's a running joke, if you are gonna put solar on your wellsite, get out the binoculars and see the landowners nearby and buy them some solar panels because yours will be gone in a month.

That's funny, we always joke that when we see someone check out the well site on our farm that we should drive by and pick up their garbage, because it seems they are always throwing their McDonalds trash out the window.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

That's funny, we always joke that when we see someone check out the well site on our farm that we should drive by and pick up their garbage, because it seems they are always throwing their McDonalds trash out the window.

Where is this? We would fire our guys immediately for that.

But I am sure it happens. Dude, 99% of our landowners love us (no idea why). We have a suspended PJ in this guys driveway from the 50's and he doesn't want it gone, he wants it reactivated. He wants an operating well in his front yard. We have agreed to let him keep it if we can't find any potential in the well.

Last week, crackheads cut down a power pole into our site to steal this small transformer, zero value.

We should chat, I'm sure we have some horror stories on both sides.