With the mass of cold air that has plunged the province into a deep freeze, I have seen a first for Alberta.
On Saturday, Jan. 13, the province’s electrical system sent out an emergency alert indicating that Alberta’s electrical grid was nearing capacity and that if the load was not shed, the next step would be rolling blackouts.
Fortunately, Albertans stepped up, the demand on the system was reduced and there was no need for the blackouts to occur.
However, since that has occurred, I have seen social media blow up with people on both sides of the renewable energy debate trading shots with each other.
On the one side, people say that the grid is not capable of sustaining an increased push for electrical vehicles and that with how little the renewables were putting into the grid, they are not the answer.
On the other, advocates for renewable energy say that more power into the grid, by way of renewables, would keep this sort of thing from happening.
Having interviewed people on both sides of the discussion, I believe that they are right.
Absolutely, 100 per cent, our grid is not capable of sustaining an increased electrical load. The thing is, experts have been warning that the production into our grid has not been keeping up for years if not decades.
The governing United Conservative Party is quick to lay blame for pretty much anything that goes wrong at the feet of the Alberta NDP or the Federal Government. Here’s the problem: while the NDP was a one-term government, conservatives have been in control of Alberta’s finances, and infrastructure, for the better part of the last 40 years.
It takes more than four years, one government term, for the approvals to be processed and a new powerplant to be constructed. The current electrical deficit being faced by the province can’t lie on the feet of the NDP, instead, the conservatives need to look in the mirror.
All that being said, when the temperature drops as low as it has, renewables are not in a position to help us. But, every project that gets built advances the technology that much further. If we keep the pace of development, who is to say how far the technology will advance over the next decade?
While I agree that 10 years may be a little soon to start phasing out combustion engine vehicles and the transition to a net-zero grid, every piece of technology developed helps guide us in that direction and after the blistering heat of 2023 and the accompanying fires, I can’t help but conclude that what humans are doing to this planet is not good.
Pollution is everywhere; there is a giant patch of garbage floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Even if mankind isn’t directly responsible for climate change, a topic that I have read both sides on and still don’t know enough about to give an intelligent answer, what we are doing to the earth we call home is still a travesty.
There is room for responsible oil and gas development, along with renewable development. One side or the other isn’t responsible for the situation we find ourselves in, but they both, I believe, can play a part in navigating us out of it.
Our leaders just need to quit the finger-pointing long enough to do some planning ahead.
Our current electrical has needed development for years. It was supposed to happen when the grid was privatized; that didn’t happen. Instead, one bandage over another has been applied to keep it limping along.
With high levels of immigration into the province and the increasing reliance on technology of all sorts, never mind electric vehicles, the demand on the grid has never been higher.
It’s time our elected officials take notice, and work with all sides to fix the mess they created.
~Kevin Sabo is the editor of the Stettler Independent, Castor Advance, and Bashaw Star for Black Press Media.