Letters and Commentary from 2016

December 31 - Confusion over energy plans

The Alberta government is discussing "Bill 27, The Renewable Energy Act" in the legislature. It proposes  massive changes to the Alberta electricity system, including the phase-out of coal fired generating stations by 2030 and the installation of massive installations of wind and possibly solar generating units. This in turn requires a massive increase in natural gas fired generation to provide electricity when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. In addition the transmission system will need to be expanded to collect electricity from wind turbine installations. All of this is being undertaken without any sort of engineering, environmental, economic  cost - benefit analysis.  I expressed my concerns about the up to $50 billion cost in a letter to the Lethbridge Herald. It was published under the above title on December 31, 2016.