Photo: File

U.S. to spend $7.3 billion on rural clean energy projects

Reuters – President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday said the U.S. will spend $7.3 billion from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act to fund clean energy projects helmed by rural electric cooperatives. The 16 funded projects will reduce energy costs and increase reliability for rural Americans, who tend to pay more for energy, the White House said. […] Read more

“In terms of where they are being built and what we need, there is not pressure on agricultural land from renewables.” – Jorden Dye.

Study finds renewable energy footprint light on agricultural lands

Alberta Utilities Commission says wind and solar would have less impact than petroleum sector

Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta’s booming renewable energy sector poses little threat to agriculture or the environment, stated the Alberta Utilities Commission in a report released in mid-March. “After doing a comprehensive review on the agricultural impact, the AUC found there were no significant concerns for agriculture or the environment from renewables. In fact, they found that existing protections […] Read more


Province’s renewable energy industry will cause little threat to agriculture or the environment

Province’s renewable energy industry will cause little threat to agriculture or the environment

Renewable energy development will result in less than one per cent of agricultural land loss by 2041, said the Alberta Utilities Commission report

Reading Time: 2 minutes The province’s booming renewables industry will not be a threat to Alberta’s agricultural or environmental industries, said a report released by the Alberta Utilities Commission.  If all renewable development locates on (some of Alberta’s best) land, the percentage of agricultural land loss is estimated to be less than one per cent by 2041, said the […] Read more



Environmental group set to drill Alberta government on clean energy policies

Environmental group set to drill Alberta government on clean energy policies

Pembina Institute report questions fairness of pending recommendations

Reading Time: < 1 minute A prominent clean energy think tank is taking the Government of Alberta to task for its seven-month pause on renewable energy projects in the province. The Pembina Institute is offering the public an assessment document ahead of the moratorium’s February 29 closure. It includes seven criteria for evaluating the Alberta Utilities Commission’s (AUC) forthcoming recommendations […] Read more

Solar panels can provide shade to plants while harnessing energy, such as in this vineyard in France.

Agrivoltaics are Alberta’s energy silver bullet

It is possible to both foster solar power infrastructure and preserve farmland

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta government recently announced a much-maligned seven-month pause on renewable energy development in the province. While the exact reasons are up for debate, one specific factor has been the desire to investigate ways to make renewable energy, particularly solar, more integrated within the province over the long term. Specifically, there is a real concern […] Read more


pile of manure

Schoepp: Misconceptions about manure fly in face of common sense

It is a valuable commodity and using it as an energy source offers a host of benefits

Reading Time: 3 minutes Last month, the Guardian had an article on biogas titled ‘Brown gold: The great American manure rush begins.’ It seems I am not the only one to believe our regenerative future rests in water and manure. The story was about California dairy farmers entering into long-term contracts to sell their manure to the energy industry […] Read more

Solar arrays are transforming the Alberta landscape. Brooks Solar (middle) was hailed as Western Canada’s “first utility-scale solar project” when it came online in 2017. But it and ones like the recently completed Alberta Solar One project near Burdett (upper right) are tiny compared to the 465-MW Travers array (in background) currently under construction in Vulcan County. In fact, they’re smaller than two new projects the Atco Group will build in Calgary, the 37-MW Deerfoot project near 114 Ave. and 52 St. SE (artist’s rendition at upper left) and a 27-MW cousin to be built near Barlow Trail (not shown).

THE NEW ENERGY BOOM: The sun is shining on Alberta’s solar industry

Every sector of Alberta’s solar energy industry is seeing strong demand — including from agriculture

Reading Time: 6 minutes Alberta may be oil and gas country, but right now, another natural resource is booming in the province — solar energy. “Alberta is by far the fastest-growing solar market in Canada right now,” said Nicholas Gall, director of distributed energy resources for the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. “Large corporate buyers — companies like Amazon, Budweiser, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

White House not ruling out a U.S. carbon tax

Option 'not off the table' despite Manchin comment

Washington | Reuters –– The White House on Tuesday said it has not ruled out a carbon tax as a possible option for fighting climate change, even though U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout in the closely divided Senate, said he was not discussing the topic in talks about U.S. spending and infrastructure bills. […] Read more