Is Alberta’s renewable energy industry being treated fairly? - How to assess the outcome of the Alberta Utilities

We will consider fairness of the outcomes through the following seven criteria: companies’ ability to develop projects with willing landowners, reclamation security requirements, the municipal government approval and stakeholder intervention process, “pristine viewscapes,” access to lands held by the Crown in Right of Alberta, access to the grid and access to Alberta’s open market. [...] We will consider the fairness of the outcomes in relation to management of other sectors, such as the oil and gas sector, which has a demonstrably larger impact on the values of concern. [...] Criteria 3: Municipal government approval and objections from adjacent landowners, corporate interests and members of the public Fair outcomes: • Municipal government approval is not required (as is the case for other energy sectors) and the opportunity for stakeholders to intervene in the regulatory process is the same as other parts of the energy sector. [...] The inconsistency between the treatment of the renewable energy sector and the oil and gas sector is especially concerning given renewable energy lowers costs to consumers,12 generates stable revenues for landowners and municipalities, creates job opportunities, and is a critical solution for addressing the climate crisis. [...] We respectfully acknowledge the space our organization is headquartered in as the traditional and ancestral territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, comprised of the bands Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai, the Îyârhe Nakoda Nations, including the bands of Goodstoney, Chiniki, and Bearspaw, and the Tsuut’ina Dené.