Danielle Smith drops ‘uncertainty bomb’ on Alberta’s clean energy future
CANADA'S National Observer By John Woodside | News, Energy, Politics | February 29th 2024 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces new measures for renewable energy development. Alberta’s seven-month pause on renewable energy development is coming to an end, but new rules promise to restrict the sector even further, experts say. Among the new rules Premier Danielle Smith announced Wednesday is a ban on new wind projects within a 35-kilometre buffer zone of protected areas and other “pristine viewscapes” chosen by the province. Other projects in the buffer zone could be subjected to a “visual impact assessment” before securing approval. Smith also said the Alberta Utilities Commission, which regulates energy projects, will take an “agriculture first” approach, meaning crops and livestock will take priority over renewable energy proposals unless it can be demonstrated that the project can coexist with agricultural uses. Renewable energy developers will also be required to put money a