A decision by Canada’s largest oil and gas-producing province to halt new wind and solar projects has prompted disbelief among environmental groups and economists. The move comes as the country struggles with its worst wildfire season on record, a situation that experts agree is worsened by the climate crisis and a reliance on fossil fuels.
Alberta last week announced a six-month moratorium on large solar and wind projects so it can review policies surrounding the projects’ construction and impact on the power grid, as well as rules for their eventual decommissioning.
Since then, provincial and federal ministers have sparred over the controversial decision, exposing tensions between Alberta, which favours natural gas for power generation, and the governing Liberals, who have the broader ambition to decarbonize electrical grids across the country by 2035.
Acknowledging provinces’ responsibility for electricity infrastructure and delivery, the government also highlighted its own federal authority over environmental regulations and “strategic investments” to attain broader climate goals.
“This came as a complete shock to the industry. And it’s really a broader shock to all industries in Alberta, for a government to take such a drastic action without any consultation,” said Jorden Dye, acting director of Business Renewables Centre Canada.
Provincial officials have expressed concern over the rapid pace of investment and development of renewable-energy projects in the province – one of the sunniest and windiest regions of the country.
But Dye says that the province has successfully balanced tensions between the speed of development and residents’ concerns for decades. “We’ve conducted regulatory reviews for both coal bed methane production and the oil sands industry for years – all without pausing development,” he said, adding that the decision even hurts the oil and gas industry- an increasingly large player in the province’s renewables market.
“I’ve had many conversations over the last week, ranging from CFOs of oil and gas companies to my rural Alberta farming family. And no one can understand why this drastic of an action was taken. Because it’s just not how this province conducts business.”
Nearly C$2bn worth of projects have been proposed in recent months in the province, and Dye warns companies might look to other jurisdictions to develop them.
The decision to freeze projects is a “mistake”, the head of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association said in a statement, warning the move will weaken investor confidence in the province, which represents 75% of the country’s renewable growth since last year.
There are now nearly 3,500MW worth of wind and solar projects under construction in the province, worth more than C$2.7bn, that won’t be affected by the decision, according to reporting by the Globe and Mail. The vast majority of these projects are on private land.
With the scope of the moratorium unclear, the province’s plan could strand as many as 100 projects that were set to generate enough energy to power 3m homes and are worth at least C$25bn in investments, according to the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based energy thinkthank.
In recent years, the province has taken controversial decisions that have united unlikely groups, most notably Alberta’s short-lived plans to open coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Those plans united environmentalists, ranchers and a famous country singer against the United Conservative government, which quickly backtracked.
The decision to halt renewables has baffled economists, environmental groups and business executives, whose companies are now questioning hefty investments in the province.
Nearly one-third of Alberta’s grid is powered by renewables and the province has shifted away from coal at a far faster rate than expected. When the previous New Democratic party announced in 2015 it would phase out coal power, it pledged to accomplish that feat by 2030. But the province will attain the goal this year – seven years early.
“It’s clearly an ideological decision, taken at a time when climate impacts have hit Canada so devastatingly. It is completely irresponsible to halt the deployment of cost-effective and proven climate solutions,” said Caroline Brouillette, executive director of the Climate Action Network. “The province is sending the message they’re not open for business. These projects are already happening, and they’re not only good for the environment, they’re good for the economy.”
Brouillette also pointed to longstanding issues over orphaned gas wells and leaks at tailings ponds that have left Indigenous communities fearing for the safety of their water supplies. “To the premier, massive tailings spills that endanger Indigenous communities don’t constitute an emergency – but the potential for expanding cost-effective and proven climate solutions at a time when Canada is burning somehow poses a threat,” she said.
“I really hope that logic and facts can prevail for the sake of Alberta, their economy, jobs, and access to a safe and affordable energy supply.”
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
