MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Putting updated regulations in place for renewable energy projects to protect agriculture land and to ensure rural taxpayers are not burdened with unreasonable reclamation costs is good news, says Mountain View County's reeve.
“To protect agriculture lands, as well as mitigate a potential financial burden on Albertans in the future regarding reclamation liabilities, we fully understood that the regulations on renewable energy were not sufficient in the province of Alberta,” Angela Aalbers told the Albertan.
“It is very satisfying to see the ministers of Environment and Protected Areas, Agriculture and Irrigation, and Affordability and Utilities all come together with a common understanding of the importance of an agriculture first principal and a commitment to protect landowners and taxpayers from being burdened with reclamation costs.”
The Smith government has announced new policy and regulations for renewable power development, saying the changes are needed to protect agriculture and viewscapes.
Under the new electric energy land use and visual assessment regulation, renewable energy development will not be permitted on land suitability rating system Class 1 and Class 2 lands unless the proponent can demonstrate the ability for both crops and/or livestock to co-exist with the renewable generation project.
As well, an irritability assessment must be conducted by project proponents and considered by the Alberta Utilities Commission.
Under amendments to the activities designation regulation and conservation and reclamation regulation, developers will be responsible for reclamation costs through a mandatory security or bond.
Municipalities will also be automatically granted the right to participate in related AUC hearings, and allow municipalities to review rules related to municipal submission requirements while clarifying consultation requirements.
“These changes will help make sure that all renewable energy projects provided a reasonable security up front and that land will be reclaimed for future generations.” Rebecca Schultz, minister of Environment and Protected Areas, said in announcing the changes.
Both Mountain View County and the 69-member Rural Municipalities of Alberta have been advocating to the provincial government for stronger legislation regarding the renewable energy industry.
RMA presidents Kara Westerlund said in a release that the changes will “support industry accountability and positive relationships between renewable companies, municipalities and landowners and ensure that renewable projects are properly located to minimize impact on agricultural land.”
The Pembina Institute is a think-tank that advocates for policies to support clean energy. Following the announcement of the new regulations, Jason Wang, the organization's senior electricity analyst, reportedly said, “Oil and gas wells use 125 times as much land as renewable energy in the province and not all of that’s on agricultural land, but a lot of it is.
“We should be dealing with our public policy problems head-on directly, not isolating one sector that just has such a small impact.”
For her part, reeve Aalbers said, “The county is proud to work with a government that listens to our concerns, and acts on those concerns to create better policy, ensuring Albertans benefit from balanced development.”
The new regulations also create a large buffer zone, including along some part of the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, to protected viewscapes.
