Tag: renewables

Canada, US and Mexico sign MOU on Climate Change and Energy Collaboration

On February 12, 2016, the energy minister and energy secretaries from Canada, Mexico and the United States met for the North American Energy Ministers Meeting in Winnipeg, where the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Climate Change and Energy Collaboration. The countries also announced a web platform where North American energy information can be accessed in one place. The MOU represents a step towards a continental energy strategy, under which Canada, Mexico and the US will collaborate and share information in six key areas:

  1. Sharing experience and knowledge in the development of reliable, resilient and low-carbon electricity grids.
  2. Modeling, deploying and accelerating innovation of clean energy technologies, including renewables.
  3. Exchanging information in order to improve energy efficiency for equipment, appliances, industries and buildings, including energy management systems.
  4. Exchanging information and promoting joint action to advance the deployment of carbon capture, use and storage.
  5. Identifying trilateral activities to further climate change adaptation and resilience.
  6. Sharing best practices and seeking methods to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, including methane and black carbon.

As noted above, the three countries have announced a web platform for sharing information on energy resources in North America. The North American Cooperation on Energy Information (NACEI) was initiated in 2014 and sought to develop resources for:

  1. comparing, validating, and improving respective energy import and export information;
  2. sharing publicly available geospatial information related to energy infrastructure;
  3. exchanging views and information on projections of cross-border energy flows; and
  4. harmonizing terminology, concepts and definitions of energy products.

With the launch of the NACEI, North American energy information is now available on one platform and includes:

  • Energy Trade Data: Data tables covering traded energy between the three countries, as well as a methodological guide explaining the attributes of each data source. A detailed cross reference of terminology and a common set of conversion factors are also available.
  • North American Energy Maps: A series of maps of energy infrastructure and a multi-layered interactive mapping site are available and will be augmented as additional GIS data is verified.
  • Energy Outlooks: Reports describing and comparing the outlooks for energy trade across the continent.

Further discussions on a continental energy strategy are expected when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President Barack Obama in March 2016.

Alberta Releases Details of Climate Leadership Plan in Advance of Federal/Provincial Climate Change Meeting and COP 21

In advance of a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fellow premiers, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley unveiled the details of the province’s Climate Leadership Plan on November 22, 2015. The plan, which is based on the advice of the Climate Change Advisory Panel (the Panel, led by Dr. Andrew Leach), will also be promoted by Premier Notley at the United Nations Climate Change conference that will take place in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015.

Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan accelerates the province’s transition from coal to renewable electricity sources and sets an emissions limits of 100 megatonnes for the oil sands with provisions for new upgrading and co-generation (the level of current emissions from the oil sands is approximately 70 megatonnes). To ensure that the policy is progressive and protects the competitiveness of Alberta’s core industries, the Panel has recommended a consumer credit which will offset the impact of the policy for households and allocations of emissions credits for industrial emitters. A copy of the Panel’s Report to the Minister, which was also released on November 22nd, is available Leadership Report Online.
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan sets out the following policy objectives:

Carbon Pricing
Carbon pricing provides the backbone of the Panel’s proposed policy architecture. Alberta will phase in carbon pricing in two steps:
o $20/tonne economy-wide in January 2017.
o $30/tonne economy-wide in January 2018.

The Panel has also proposed that the existing Specified Gas Emitters Regulation be replaced by a Carbon Competitiveness Regulation in 2018, which would:
a) broaden the carbon pricing signal in Alberta to cover approximately 90% of the province’s emissions, up from less than 50% today;
b) provide a consumer rebate to mitigate the impacts of carbon pricing on low- and middle-income Albertans, fund complementary emissions-abatement programs and, where applicable, support a sound and just transition for labour and communities and strategies to protect small- and medium-sized businesses;
c) improve the mechanism by which trade-exposed industries are protected to ensure their competitiveness while encouraging and rewarding top performance;
d) increase stringency at the same pace as peer and competing jurisdictions; and
e) avoid the transfer of wealth outside of Alberta.

Electricity and Renewables
• Alberta will phase out all pollution created by burning coal and transition to more renewable energy and natural gas generation by 2030.
• Three principles will shape the coal phase-out: (i) maintaining reliability; (ii) providing reasonable stability in prices to consumers and business; and (iii) ensuring that capital is not unnecessarily stranded.
• Two-thirds of coal-generated electricity will be replaced by renewables – primarily wind power – while natural gas generation will continue to provide firm base load reliability.
• Renewable energy sources will comprise up to 30 per cent of Alberta’s electricity production by 2030.

Methane Reduction
• In collaboration with industry, environmental organizations, and affected First Nations, Alberta will implement a methane reduction strategy to reduce emissions by 45% from 2014 levels by 2025.

Revenue Neutral
• One-hundred per cent of proceeds from carbon pricing will be reinvested in Alberta.
• A portion of collected revenues will be invested directly into measures to reduce pollution (including clean energy research and technology), green infrastructure (such as public transit), and programs to help Albertans reduce their energy use.
• Other revenues will be invested in an adjustment fund that will help individuals and families make ends meet; provide transition support to small businesses, First Nations, and people working in affected coal facilities.

Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan is expected to reduce emissions from current trends by approximately 20 Mt by 2020, and approximately 50 Mt by 2030. This would roughly stabilize emissions, by 2030, just above current levels at approximately 270 Mt.