Report shows Alberta tax revenue from renewables up 92 per cent
Wind and solar projects will generate $54 million in tax revenue for Alberta municipalities this year, up 92 per cent from 2023, according to the Business Renewables Centre-Canada (BRC-Canada). Although several major projects came online this year, BRC-Canada reports there was a five-fold increase in the rate of project cancellations following the province's renewable energy pause, and uncertainty about forthcoming regulations is still having a chilling effect on investment.
“What we saw this year was a switch to solar being the driver of the new tax revenue,” said Jorden Dye, director of BRC-Canada.
“Wind projects still remain the largest in number of projects in the province, but the increase we saw this year was primarily driven by a lot of large solar projects that became operational last year and started producing tax revenue this year.”
Dye said a total of 18 new projects were added to the grid in the past year, and five additional Alberta municipalities have started generating revenue from renewables since the last report from BRC-Canada.
Dye noted all the new projects added were already under construction before Alberta’s seven-month moratorium on wind and solar projects. The impacts of the pause are still being felt throughout the province, he said.
Since the renewables pause began, data from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) shows that 53 projects were cancelled. While many projects never make it past the planning and proposal phase, Dye said there was a five-fold increase in the rate of cancellations compared to the three-month period before the moratorium.
“I know sometimes people get stuck on the specific projects, and I think that is less alarming than what we are seeing in the rate. And it's really driven by the uncertainty in the market on how regulations for renewables will be handled going forward,” he said.
The UCP government announced several major regulatory changes for wind and solar projects, including an agricultural land ban, no-go wind zones for pristine viewscapes, and rules for agrivoltaics and reclamation securities. Details of these regulations have not yet been released.
Alberta’s government intends to advance these policy, legislative and regulatory changes before the end of 2024, said Affordability and Utilities press secretary Ashley Stevenson.
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