It’s always sunny in Alberta, or is it?

Conflicting views around renewable energy development on agricultural land

You don’t have to go far in any part of rural Alberta today to find a farmer who knows of a solar or wind energy project already developed, under construction or proposed in their area.

Over the last 10 years, Alberta’s electricity supply from renewable energy has grown at an unprecedented rate, from one per cent from wind and solar projects to over ten per cent today. Solar production alone is expected to increase tenfold over the next two years. Alberta has fast emerged as the wind and solar capital of Canada and this claim brings with it growing conversations around managing conflicting interests and priorities.

A number of factors have coalesced to position Alberta, above all other jurisdictions of Canada, for this explosive growth. The most obvious factor is the abundant solar and wind resources that exist in Alberta, with many regions consistently ranking as the sunniest places in Canada. Adding to this are a number of government policies aiming to green the electricity grid including: the federal government’s commitment to achieve a net- zero grid by 2035, the provincial government’s commitments to eliminate emissions from coal power generation by 2030, and a legislated goal to see 30 per cent of Alberta’s electricity come from renewable sources over that same timeframe.

However, arguably the biggest driver for this growth is Alberta’s unique, deregulated electricity market that allows large corporations like Amazon, Starbucks, RBC, Telus and even the City of Edmonton, to strike energy deals directly with renewable developers through Power Purchase Agreements amid growing demand from their shareholders and government to decarbonize their operations. Alberta’s unique regulatory environment is attracting major solar investments, underscored by the sharp drop in the cost of wind and solar equipment over the last decade by nearly 90 per cent.

This sudden and somewhat unexpected growth has left governments, farmers and landowners, and rural communities struggling to understand the trade-offs, impacts and opportunities of a fast-growing number of renewable energy projects on the landscape.

One of the major areas of concern is related to the conservation of agricultural land for all its’ social, economic and environmental importance. Alberta land use, development and planning regimes have not historically countered conversion pressures on agricultural land well, leading to an increase of over 52 per cent of prime agricultural land going to urban or industrial purposes over the last 50 years. Land use pressure is mounting on existing agricultural land, including from renewable and other energy projects that can only be developed on private land in Alberta. This leads to concerns around land fragmentation which decreases agricultural productivity and diminishes economic opportunity.

In many cases through the Municipal Government Act (MGA), municipalities have authority through bylaws and municipal statutory plans when it comes to land use planning and development. However, the MGA explicitly excludes licenses, permits or approvals by Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), which govern renewable energy projects, from a requirement to align with or consider municipal statutory plans when making decisions on private land.

Municipal authority is overlain by the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) that supports regional planning and provides prevailing guidance to address conflict poised by competing goals such as increasing investment in renewable energy and maintaining the agricultural land base to minimize fragmentation and conversion. However, in Alberta only two of seven regional plans have been completed and existing plans have been seen as inadequate to address such conflict - as ruled by the AUC when a concern was raised against a solar project on productive agricultural land. In the absence of legal or government policy restrictions to take land out of agricultural production, the choice remains with the landowner.

While municipalities recognize the value of conserving agricultural land and the growing concerns related to fragmentation, many have set goals to increase solar energy projects in their counties and welcome the tax revenues that could be generated. They are, however, mindful of the tax losses they faced related to inactive and orphaned well clean-up, many of which are still ongoing. While, as of June 2018, solar and wind projects are required under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) to conserve, reclaim and get a reclamation certificate, there is no provincial requirement for operators of solar or wind power projects on private land to provide reclamation security, unless otherwise negotiated with the landowner. The Alberta Energy Regulatory requires this for other energy projects on private or public land.

This is a priority concern from farmers and ranchers, however, in most cases the biggest concern is the number of prime agricultural acres that could be taken out of production, including in key and irrigated agricultural areas. As farms expand, they often look to acquire land adjacent to their own. A solar project could take this land out of production for 30 years (the average life of a solar project) or longer, minimizing growth opportunities. Other concerns are related to increasing land values and the potential for weed contamination on unmaintained project lands. Generally, farmers and ranchers don’t oppose green energy development, they just want to see planning mechanisms that ensure the preservation of high-quality agricultural land for food production.