Reading Time: 6 minutes Cory Nelson isn’t what you might call a ‘tree hugger.’ But the Grassy Lake-area farmer is a businessman, and to him, solar energy just makes good financial sense. “We view it as an investment,” said Nelson, who grows a variety of crops under irrigation on his southern Alberta farm. “Our best math said it was […] Read more
The solar power math is starting to add up
A steep drop in solar prices is giving a new meaning to ‘green’ power — and giving Alberta farmers a way to cut energy costs
Funding sparks boom in small-scale solar projects
Attractive lease rates for ‘micro-gen’ projects have many farmers thinking of doing their own
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although smaller-scale community-organized solar farms have, so far, been left in the lurch, there’s good news for farmers and other rural landowners interested in solar. Growing Forward 2 offers grants of up to $50,000 for ‘micro-gen’ solar projects where the power is used in the production of a primary commodity. That kind of government support […] Read more
Community-based project lost in the shuffle over solar power
Government inaction jeopardizes proposed community solar farm that backers hoped would be a model for rural Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes It only takes a cursory glance at the headlines to recognize that a solar energy boom is coming to Alberta. Last year, the province set a target of having 30 per cent renewable energy by 2030 — but it remains to be seen whether farmers and rural communities will be able to ride this coming […] Read more
The lowdown on solar and wind leases
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Farmers’ Advocate Office has released a new publication titled Negotiating Renewable Energy Leases. “The FAO has been seeing an increase in the number of calls about negotiating wind and solar leases,” said spokesperson Jeana Schuurman. The publication covers some key differences between wind and solar leases and those for oil and gas. Since wind […] Read more
Province ups funding for energy efficiency projects on farms
Farm groups welcome additional funding but say ‘work still needs to be done’ to reduce impact of carbon tax
Reading Time: 3 minutes After installing about 100 solar panels on their dairy barn, the Schuurman family has reduced their energy bill by 60 per cent. And they plan to drive it lower still. “My personal conviction is that I want to be sustainable long term — I believe in climate change, and I have an opportunity to change,” […] Read more
B.C. farmers learned to live with a carbon tax
Reading Time: < 1 minute B.C.’s carbon tax didn’t make its farmers less competitive, says a carbon tax expert. Brandon Schaufele studied its effect on agricultural trade for 12 different commodities and found the competitiveness of B.C. products wasn’t reduced. “There was very little evidence that the carbon taxes impacted trade at all,” said the assistant professor at the Ivey […] Read more
Glencore sees renewables not cost competitive until mid-century
London | Reuters — Renewable energy will not be cost competitive with fossil fuels until 2050, Glencore said on Tuesday, much later than energy organizations forecast and supporting the mining and trading giant’s case for continued investment in coal. Glencore, whose non-mining holdings include Canadian grain handler Viterra, has said coal is still an investment […] Read more
Canadian biofuels aren’t a ‘blunder,’ they’re a success story
Well-designed renewable fuel policies can be good for the environment, the economy, and agricultural producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes In an opinion piece published in the previous edition of this paper (Biofuels are one of our greatest environmental blunders), Gwyn Morgan questions the benefits of biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Mr. Morgan would have it that biofuels are a “blunder.” In our opinion, biofuels are a home run for the environment and the rural economy. […] Read more
Alberta to back new renewable energy capacity
Reuters — The Alberta government said Tuesday it will support the creation of 5,000 megawatts of additional renewable energy capacity by 2030 to help achieve goals laid out in its climate plan last year. Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks, said Alberta now has a firm target of 30 per cent of electricity used […] Read more
On-farm solar funding program reopens
Up to $50,000 is available for producers who want to generate solar power on their operations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Growing Forward 2’s On-Farm Solar Photovoltaics program has reopened and is accepting applications. There are a few revisions to the terms and conditions, said project engineer Kelly Lund. “We really encourage potential applicants to read through them to be sure they understand the changes to the program,” said Lund, noting full program information and forms […] Read more
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