Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Dion]

Originally Posted by photon

Getting old enough to wonder if I'm old enough that most people won't get that reference lol.

Tonya Harding (UCP) and Nancy Kerrigan

[Harry Lime]

Alberta is not calling.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by edslunch

Ignoring 2035, what does net-zero ever look like in Alberta? If there is a necessity to stop adding CO2 to the atmosphere then costs need to be borne one way or other. What’s the end plan and how do get there, even by 2050?

Nuclear will replace combined cycle and coal conversion plants as base load, but it’s not ready yet and the timelines probably couldn’t even hit 2035 if it were. Where it’ll get tricky is the dispatchable generation to pace renewables and demand swings. We don’t have hydro so that’s why gas peakers are so great. The only feasible technology now would be hydrogen fired peakers because CCUS doesn’t really work on a peaker plant. But that’s a lotttttt of expensive infrastructure (ie high electricity prices or taxes) to effectively capture the CO2 on a gas peaker (many blue hydrogen plants + carbon sequestration and storage infrastructure on them + H2 distribution to the peakers).

Originally Posted by calf

While planning for the worst conditions is prudent, what often gets overlooked is the fact that the system can still be planned and designed around when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. In fact, when you have renewables running all out, that's when pool prices can be at their lowest. I get that if Renewables are overbuilt there's concerns about overloading the grid, but other jurisdictions just shut in facilities if that's the case/compensate the generator in those case. That'll require a re-work of the system as well, but it's a complex problem requiring complex solutions.

But really, having more renewables on the grid to displace non-renewables in those high supply times isn't a bad thing - it's like mixing in a water on a night of heavy drinking - it's a sensible thing to do.

It cannot easily be designed around when the sun shines. What is required to keep the lights on through 1-2 week long cold fronts in the winter when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t really shine cannot be “easily designed”. You are massively underestimating this.

The concerns about overbuilding renewables isn’t overloading the grid. They’re easy to turn off. No one cares about that. There are lots of issues though.

First, if your solution is to massively overbuild them to just scrape out enough wind during the low supply high demand times, if that’s even possible, then that is a lotttttttt of money to spend to make a few MW a year. Like a ridiculously inefficient use of capital that will drive power costs to ridiculous heights (unless some benevolent god rains them down from the sky for free). There’s no free lunches here.

Second, when there’s massive oversupply the price is rock bottom. So the returns for more renewables decrease the more of them you build. That’s the paradox, the more you build the less incentive you have to build more. Correlation is a bugger. This is solved by re-regulating the grid, but that doesn’t solve the first problem. Market structure doesn’t change the cost of something, just who pays for it and how.

Now, this in theory would be plausible if we could access neighbouring hydro to use as storage. Basically when we’re massively overproducing we could export to BC/MB/QC and use the power to pump water back up hill kinda like charging a battery. Then in short times you draw back down. That’s the actual pan-Canadian solution. Problem with that is a few things…we’d probably need 20-30x or more tie line capacity than we currently have and these things are very difficult to get built (NIMBYism…remember how we couldn’t even get one HVDC line built inside this province without people whining hard), regulatorily challenging, and we don’t exactly have the best track record of building things across province lines with BC and QC. Then we’d also need to get them to build more hydro, which isn’t exactly en vogue due to the whole flooding the land of bunnies and birds thing, not to mention the methane emissions.

That’s why electricity from gas is so popular. It is cheap and reliable. And with all the bitching people do in here about power prices, I question their actual appetite to pay a boatload more for a net zero grid. So they’ll just keep hoping for a unicorn.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Faust

David Parker

Masks do not work. The fact that AHS is trying to push them again shows that a hostile and communist ideology has taken over our healthcare system and is defying the democratic will of the people. They must be removed from any decision making roles.

https://twitter.com/davidjpba/status...187979912?s=21


Max Fawcett
In case it wasn't already obvious: TBA wants nothing more than to re-litigate the pandemic and fight culture wars -- and, apparently, eliminate AHS.

They're about to take over the UCP. Albertans need to pay attention.


https://twitter.com/maxfawcett/statu...882291134?s=21


The Breakdown

This is how divorced the leader of “Take Back Alberta” is from reality.

It’s not about evidence, science, reason, facts or anything like that.

It’s what he likes and what he doesn’t. Period.

And he’s just about got control of the UCP board.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

https://twitter.com/thebreakdownab/s...559529618?s=21

He keeps ramping it up...

This is cringe-worthy threats...

How much influence does he and his Take Alberta Backwards crew have over the UCP again?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1712923948248343018

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by cral12

He keeps ramping it up...

This is cringe-worthy threats...

How much influence does he and his Take Alberta Backwards crew have over the UCP again?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1712923948248343018

He and those that run with him are scum.

####ing appalling

[Faust]

Alberta’s UCP to debate pronoun policy in schools at upcoming AGM:

https://globalnews.ca/news/10024202/...-upcoming-agm/

[Faust]

Posted on Substack so only a portion of the article is free to read.

Look who’s running in the UCP AGM Board elections:

https://daveberta.substack.com/p/loo...in-the-ucp-agm


It will be interesting to see how many Take Back Alberta candidates win seats on the UCP board

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by cral12

He keeps ramping it up...

This is cringe-worthy threats...

How much influence does he and his Take Alberta Backwards crew have over the UCP again?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1712923948248343018

Dear David Parker,

When you need us, we're not coming for you.

Sincerely,
AHS

[Dion]

I decided to do the survey from the UCP seeking Albertans’ input on the question of a separate Alberta pension plan. Why does the survey not ask the simple question of whether I support the creation of a separate Alberta pension plan?

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Dion

I decided to do the survey from the UCP seeking Albertans’ input on the question of a separate Alberta pension plan. Why does the survey not ask the simple question of whether I support the creation of a separate Alberta pension plan?

I wrote in every comment box, "I do not support APP", regardless of what they asked me to comment on.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Dion

I decided to do the survey from the UCP seeking Albertans’ input on the question of a separate Alberta pension plan. Why does the survey not ask the simple question of whether I support the creation of a separate Alberta pension plan?

Because they don't actually give a #### what you want. This is where they pretend they consulted Albertans, and use the results of leading questions to backup their "information based decisions." Albertans should have been well aware of this before the election, so we must be OK with it. Enjoy!

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Because they don't actually give a #### what you want. This is where they pretend they consulted Albertans, and use the results of leading questions to backup their "information based decisions." Albertans should have been well aware of this before the election, so we must be OK with it. Enjoy!

It's her back handed way of ramming this through. What a piece #### Smith and the UCP is.

That said I did the NDP survey and told then I do not want an APP. I collect CPP right now and don't want the "United Corrupt Party" messing with my pension.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by #-3

I wrote in every comment box, "I do not support APP", regardless of what they asked me to comment on.

I didn't get that far before I clicked out of the survey. I went back and filled the comment boxes with a I don't support APP.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Dion

I decided to do the survey from the UCP seeking Albertans’ input on the question of a separate Alberta pension plan. Why does the survey not ask the simple question of whether I support the creation of a separate Alberta pension plan?

They know the answer they’ll get and don’t want to hear it.

[Faust]

The Breakdown

“The UCP government’s desire to dump the Canada Pension Plan in favour of an Alberta model would put investment in the province at risk and negatively impact the ability to attract crucially needed workers, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce said”

#abpoli

https://twitter.com/thebreakdownab/s...850277417?s=21



Source article:

'No certainty': Alberta Pension Plan push would be destabilizing, says Calgary Chamber:

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...algary-chamber

[Izzle]

Anyone listening to these town halls. Some callers are infuriating in their ignorance.


ETA: Props where due, the panel listened to callers from all over the spectrum. Did not seem biased at least from a questions perspective. The responses from the panel, however, were biased slightly in favor of the UCP government. For any criticism they heard from callers, their sm response was simply to make note of it and send to the UCP govt.

Btw, I must have picked up the northern Alberta feed. Tons of questions from Grande Prairie.

[Harry Lime]

I'm curious, if someone were to work in Alberta for ten years, but another province for ten years, would they collect both pensions, if they retired in a third province?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Izzle

Anyone listening to these town halls. Some callers are infuriating in their ignorance.


ETA: Props where due, the panel listened to callers from all over the spectrum. Did not seem biased at least from a questions perspective. The responses from the panel, however, were biased slightly in favor of the UCP government. For any criticism they heard from callers, their sm response was simply to make note of it and send to the UCP govt.

Btw, I must have picked up the northern Alberta feed. Tons of questions from Grande Prairie.

Last night was for Northern Alberta specifically. Anyone could listen, but only questions from people in the North. There are set days for different regions (I think Calgary is November 9).

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

I'm curious, if someone were to work in Alberta for ten years, but another province for ten years, would they collect both pensions, if they retired in a third province?

You'd get CPP from the other province. From Alberta you'd get an IOU on a napkin.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

You'd get CPP from the other province. From Alberta you'd get an IOU on a napkin.

Better yet, you'd get a personal download link to a radio ad telling you that electricity rates are everyone else's fault but Alberta's, and that as a side note, your pension will come from trickle-down economics from Alberta's energy companies. Any day now.