After a huge outcry over opening up coal mining in the mountains, the UCP backed down and reinstated the ban in 2022, or so we thought.
An older application for a coal mine in the Crowsnest area had been rejected. Last fall they reapplied to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) under a new name. Enter minister Brian Jean.
He wrote to the AER saying the application should be considered one exempt from the ban. They conveniently complied and now we are to have more hearings on a previously rejected coal mine project.
This the AER did ignoring the warning they issued just over a month ago that all water users in Southern Alberta were going to have to reduce their water usage.
Jean’s directives were totally inappropriate, as was the AER’s willingness to obey. The AER is an independent review board and politicians are to stay out of decision making processes.
Juxtapose Jean’s actions on coal mines with Smith’s new bans on renewable energy. These projects are not to be within 35 kilometres of protected areas or pristine viewscapes.
So, it is OK to tear up a mountain and wash the dirty coal with our remaining water but you better not put up a windmill in front of the mountain.
There are to be strict, but largely undefined rules for where renewable energy projects can go, and coverage for reclamation costs is required.
We should protect farm land, but look around at all the farm land used for warehousing, RV storage, industrial, oil and gas wells and equipment, and urban sprawl.
Consider the thousands of abandoned wells that were allowed to be drilled without adequate regulations to ensure reclamation, not to mention the damage to the landscape and water from coal mines. New red tape and extra expenses now face any renewable project.
While adequate provisions are essential, the UCP’s message is that renewable energy, in the province with the most sunlight and steady winds, is not wanted. We will lose billions in investments.
If the political messaging to her base wasn’t so paramount, the approach could have been. “This is a great opportunity, let's figure out the best way to do it.”
I recently flew to Salt Lake City. On the way down my seatmate was a young woman going to Idaho to help design and set up a solar panel project.
On the way back my seatmate was a young man who will be moving to Texas to manage a large factory installing electric batteries and hydrogen fuel tanks in semi-trailers.
The world is changing but if Smith has her way we won’t go with it.
James Wilde,
Carstairs
