Fear monger stifling green energy movement
By Lethbridge Herald on October 15, 2024.
KEVIN TIMONEY
As our society struggles against time and disinformation to transition to a sustainable economy, we turn increasingly to solar and wind energy.
Policies such as the moratorium on renewables and the prohibition of green energy projects on Alberta’s agricultural lands are little more than cynical ploys that have hampered the green transition and driven away investments and jobs.
Certainly few people want prime agricultural land to be lost to development, but the specter of renewables threatening agriculture is a false issue raised to confuse the public and stop the green energy transition.
Let’s assume a worst-case scenario where all renewables development takes place on agricultural land. In March 2024, the Alberta Utilities Commission concluded that renewables pose little threat to agriculture or the environment
. They concluded that “Assuming all renewable development locates on [some of Alberta’s best] land, the percentage of [such] agricultural land loss is estimated to be less than one per cent by 2041.”
That’s right, less than one per cent and yet the fear mongering continues to stifle the green energy transition.
In truth, currently most agricultural land lost in Alberta is due to urban sprawl, transportation and industrial projects, and the activities of the fossil fuel industry. Additionally, thousands of hectares of agricultural land in Alberta have been degraded due to poor cropping and plowing practices, salinization, and overgrazing. Scapegoating renewables for losses of agricultural land has no basis in reality.
If we use policy to ensure that degraded lands get first priority for renewables, we can solve both our energy needs and protect prime agricultural lands. Furthermore, intelligent solutions that incorporate solar production into farming are being found worldwide.
Agrivoltaics can enable farmers to grow shade-tolerant crops while they also extend growing seasons and reduce water needs. In many areas, solar panels protect crop plants from heat stress and water loss and allow farmers to grow a greater diversity of crops. With informed farming practices, the net effect on agriculture of incorporating green energy production can be positive.
But even this progressive approach to land use is dwarfed in its potential if we turn to the fossil fuel industrial footprint.
As of 2021, in Alberta, the total landscape footprint of the fossil fuel industry (wells, facilities, installations, pipelines, roads, and seismic lines) had exceeded 3 million hectares.
This vast area is composed of degraded ecosystems that cannot be ecologically restored due to the permanent damage suffered by the soils and the natural biota. Even if we invest the estimated $260 billion dollars required to reclaim those damaged landscapes, we will still be left with ecosystems dominated by non-native plant assemblages on impaired soils inhabited by only those generalist species capable of exploiting disturbed habitats. Within the vast fossil fuel industry footprint, presently a colossal public liability, renewables can transform Alberta to become a green energy leader.
Just how much land do we need to meet all of our electrical needs via solar?
As of 2015, the total Alberta electrical need was 80.3 GWh/year. Now let’s double that to 160 GWh/year to allow for future major increases in electrical consumption.
Skipping over the calculations, in Alberta, a total of 230,740 hectares would be needed to meet 100 per cent of our future electrical needs with solar panels. Now compare that to the present Alberta fossil fuel industrial footprint: 3 million hectares.
We could build all the solar panels we’ll ever need on those damaged lands.
So that’s the big picture. It’s not bleak and we should embrace it. We can participate in the global green energy transition while helping to reclaim damaged lands to productive uses.
Disinformation and bad government are the only things standing in our way.
Kevin Timoney is a senior landscape ecologist with over 40 years of research experience in Alberta’s ecosystems.
21-20
The UCP policies on solar and wind have never been anything but running interference for the oil and gas industry. Even if there was a possibility of using up prime agricultural land (and this letter shows there is not), the UCP policy assumes farmers and developers are stupid and don’t know how to run their businesses.
Why would a farmer want to sell their best land to be used for a solar farm? They’ll tend towards selling the less valuable land, because the best land is working great and making them money. Why would a solar developer want to buy the best land? The sun shines on good land and bad, why pay a premium for good soil conditions that don’t matter to you? The UCP assumes that Albertan’s are stupid, and I for one hope that they’re wrong.
Some good points are made here but I have to add that if you actually watch the grid, monitor it, most common sensed people come to the conclusion we actually have enough wind power capacity right now. When it blows we export, give away that power, and when it doesn’t we typically have to import, paying through the nose. Unfortunately we’re not very good yet at predicting actual wind speeds yet, although hopefully we’ll improve in this area. Solar is better obviously, much more predictable and can be put on many existing buildings taking up no additional land. One big change I’d like to see in policy is removing the limit on how much micro producers can produce, currently it’s basically what you use and that’s a bit of bs. If you can afford to cover your roofs with panels and they produce twice as much as you use who cares, let that person make some money. A good X account to follow if you are interested in up to the minute grid info is @ReliableAB .
They are going to build their own grids. AI are power pigs. Atco building an entire solar system in Deerfoot in Calgary to supply power exclusively to Microsoft. Renewables are dust.
https://joannenova.com.au/2024/10/google-amazon-give-up-on-national-grid-ignore-renewables-and-buy-their-own-nuclear-plants/
Really all investment should be in nuclear, to strengthen our baseload, and those plants should only be built where the power is actually needed so we do not have to build hundreds of miles of new transmission lines as is the case with wind farms and at times solar. The cost of these lines is a significant portion of your bill and they need to be paid for whether you’re using power or not.
Read this, for info on a solar farm project southeast of Claresholm with interesting and stringent requirements surrounding agriculture. This land involved is excellent farmland and when the numbers are crunched, would pay more/acre for the owners than raising crops. If I was still a landowner, I would say, “pick me!” for a project such as this. The landowners would still retain ownership.
“Process beginning to re-zone land for solar farm operation”
http://www.claresholmlocalpress.ca/2024/process-beginning-to-re-zone-land-for-solar-farm-operation/
I don’t think anyone likes the idea of prime agricultural land like this being converted to a solar farm. However if they are able to still use it for livestock grazing for instance and they do it well it could be a win win. Although if the livestock produces methane as most do maybe there’s no point lol. Unfortunately I haven’t seen this done properly yet, most solar farms I’ve seen are weedy messes, wasting not only the land they’re on but causing problems for everyone down wind where all of the weed seed ends up.
One of the largest parcels involved in the above-mentioned project has been seeded to some type of grass and it is an excellent stand of grass. We are impressed with how well it turned out.
That’s good to hear, the one’s I’m thinking of by Lethbridge and High River definitely do not and now that they’re built it’s so much harder to get in there to seed, fertilize and spray, basically impossible to do a good job.
Maybe that’s the problem, you didn’t think Kevin! It is actually the Liberal Government and their ridiculous and unachievable 2030 “Green ” action plan that is killing our farms and agriculture. Fertilizer restrictions, Quotas, Carbon taxation, ect. Where will it end, and when? Well, here’s a hint, when a new Federal Government is in place, and Poilierve moves forward with axing the tax to begin with. For now, feast your imaginary eyes on what a EV New Holland combine or a tandem Versatile tractor will look like! What do you “think” about that Kevin?
Two major “mongerer’s” change course. Now here’s a pony you can hitch your wagon to.
https://joannenova.com.au/2024/10/google-amazon-give-up-on-national-grid-ignore-renewables-and-buy-their-own-nuclear-plants/
we can uncover the cleanest, purest most sustainable source of energy in the universe, clean to harvest and clean when spent. that will do little to solve the actual basis of our unsustainable issues. such energy cannot get rid of our trampling of the natural world and all the toxic mess we unleash and create simply to satisfy our ever growing wants. too bad the poisons we create and dump, and the junk we create and dump does not actually disappear into thin air. are we at all willing to accept it stays with us for a very long time, and, the harm it does now multiplies for our future generations.