According to experts, the growth of Alberta’s renewable energy sector is on an upward trend — with a rise in projects that could push the province to become a leader in Canada’s public-service-scale production capacity of energy produced via both wind and solar.
According to Rystad Energy, 83% of the utility-scale wind and solar capacity built in Canada will be in Alberta over the next five years. This projection doesn’t include residential installs, either.
The projected growth would mean that by mid-decade, Alberta’s province will have the most significant combined large scale wind and solar capacity in Canada, surpassing Ontario — which current reigns supreme.
Based on Rystad’s data, Alberta’s current renewable capacity includes 0.1 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 1.8 GW of wind power; by 2025, capacity (could) balloon to 1.8 GW from solar and 6.5 GW from wind.
Comparatively, they speculate Ontario will have around 1.8 GW of solar power and 5.8 GW of wind power during the same period.
A rep for Rystad has noted that Alberta’s commitment to stop burning coal for electricity by 2030 “opens the door” for wind and solar to play a more significant role.
Several multi-million dollar wind and solar energy projects are on Alberta’s books over the coming years, such as Edmonton International Airport and Alpin Sun’s Airport City Solar intuitive.
