New regulations for renewable energy 

Through recent amendments through the Government of Alberta Orders in Council on December 6, amendments to the Activities Designation Regulation and Conservation and Reclamation Regulation provide clarity for renewable energy developers on new and existing environmental protections. 

These changes will create consistent reclamation requirements across all forms of renewable energy operations, including a mandatory reclamation security requirement. Albertans expect renewable power generation projects to be responsibly decommissioned and reclaimed for future generations. Alberta’s government stands firm in its commitment to protect landowners and taxpayers from being burdened with reclamation costs. Find out more. 

This aligns with our Chamber's policy recommendations on Ensuring the Reclamation of Renewable Energy Projects that was first passed in March 2023 and completed in February 2024, asking for the establishment of securities to pay for project closure costs, including suspension, abandonment, decommissioning, remediation, and reclamation, if a company cannot meet its obligations to close a renewable energy project safely and responsibly. 

Why this matters: Without having long term plans and securities, there is uncertainty of what happens if a company cannot meet its obligations creating additional costs for land and property owners and Government, and ultimately taxpayers for reclamation. We are pleased to see that there has been consideration for long term abandonment, decommissioning, remediation and reclamation to protect land owners and future taxpayers from bearing the burden.