Investment

Alberta investing $176M of TIER funds into carbon-cutting projects – Calgary Herald

Published

3 years ago

November 1, 2021

‘There’s quite a variety, all focused on significant GHG emissions and at the same time creating jobs,’ Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said

Author of the article:

Jason Herring

Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon at a news conference in Edmonton, October 25, 2021. Photo by Ed Kaiser/Postmedia

The Alberta government has approved $176 million in funding toward 16 clean-energy projects.

The money comes from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund, said Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon. The projects are expected to create about 5,600 jobs and cut nearly seven million tonnes of emissions by 2030.

“It’s building on the significant job creation and emissions reductions that we’ve seen with technology that’s coming out of this important fund,” Nixon said.

Alberta unveiled its TIER program in 2019 as an alternative to the federal government’s carbon tax. Large industrial facilities representing about 60 per cent of Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions pay into the fund.

The Monday announcement follows a $750-million investment made last year , when the province emptied the TIER fund to boost projects that improve energy efficiency or capture, use or store waste carbon dioxide.

“The fund always continues to compile more compliance payments. Every year, as our large emitters are paying into the fund, we’ll continue to have the opportunity to invest,” Nixon said.

“That was the commitment to industry when we made TIER two years ago, that we would ensure that we were investing on a regular basis to be able to make sure we can see large technology gains to manage the climate change situation in our province.”

Investments are also coming from Ottawa’s Low Carbon Economy Fund and Emissions Reduction Alberta, as well as industry.

The 16 projects receiving TIER funds represent a range of sectors, including oil and gas and manufacturing, but also areas such as cement and concrete, forestry and agriculture, and electricity.

The previously announced Canadian Pacific Railway Hydrogen Locomotive Program is among projects receiving funding, an initiative that company has said is a step toward developing trains that produce zero emissions. The locomotives will use hydrogen fuel cells for power, emitting only water vapour.

Elsewhere, an investment into the Calgary Aggregate Recycling company is slated to build what the province said was Canada’s first soil reuse facility. That project will take contaminated soil from construction sites and process it into stone and sand products.

“There’s quite a variety, all focused on significant GHG emissions and at the same time creating jobs,” Nixon said.

Canada’s climate policy and natural resources industry are currently in the spotlight as the country participates in the global COP26 climate conference, which began in Glasgow on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Canada’s newly appointed environment minister has sparked some consternation in Alberta, with both Premier Jason Kenney and NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley taking umbrage at the appointment of former Greenpeace activist Steven Guilbeault’s appointment to cabinet.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, Canada on Oct. 26, 2021. Photo by LARS HAGBERG/AFP via Getty Images files

Guilbeault said following the uproar that he doesn’t have a “secret agenda” in his new role and that he expects his appointment will not further strain Ottawa’s relationship with Alberta.

Nixon blasted the federal government for what he described as a lack of concrete action on climate change, charging that Alberta is outperforming its federal counterpart when it comes to cutting carbon emissions.

“The federal government should stop talking about climate commitments and actually do something. All we’ve seen, particularly in the last several years from the federal government, is talking about targets and ambitions, but no serious investments into accomplishing real change,” Nixon said.

“We’ve seen the opposite in Alberta: a significant investment over a period of many years that is focused on real emission reductions.”

— With files from The Canadian Press

jherring@postmedia.com

Twitter: @jasonfherring

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

3 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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