The Canadian province of Alberta is moving ahead with a 400MW competitive procurement, the first step in a new renewables drive.
The Alberta government has set a target of 5GW of renewable energy to meet its goal of 30% clean electricity by 2030.
Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the province will soon table legislation that spells out details of the procurement program.
“The Renewable Electricity Program is a key part of our plan, increasing the amount of renewable energy as we transition to greener electricity,” said Phillips.
Regulators plan to start gathering feedback on draft commercial terms starting 10 November and issue a call in 2017.
The power contracts will be similar to contract for difference agreements that would top-up developer revenues when prices fall using carbon revenues from large industrial emitters.
A carbon levy will be imposed on all carbon-based fuels as of 1 January 2017. The province plans to hold successive renewable energy calls over the next decade.
The program is expected to attract at least C$10.5bn in new investment and create a minimum of 7200 new jobs, said the Canadian Wind Energy Association.
“Alberta’s renewable energy target is ambitious and achievable and enshrining the target in legislation makes it clear to investors that Alberta will be Canada’s largest market for new wind energy investment for at least the next decade,” said CanWEA president Robert Horning.
Image: a Mainstream project in Alberta (Mainstream)
