AUC holding public consultation in Hat on rules for renewables

By COLLIN GALLANT on October 7, 2023.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

Alberta utility regulators will hold a public hearing in Medicine Hat next month as they determine new rules to approve large wind and solar projects in the province.

It will be one of three public meetings held during a seven-month pause on new project approvals.

The government says the pause is needed to update processes and consider larger implications of large-scale development in the burgeoning industry, but the opposition and some renewable sector developers call the halt unwarranted.

Local opponents to wind and solar projects told the News this week that changes are long overdue and they will participate fully in the local hearing Nov. 7.

“The technology has really outgrown the rules,” said Paul Von Huene, a resident of Irvine, who has opposed three separate wind farm applications in that area over the last four years.

He says the use of taller turbine towers requires a more broad definition of affected stakeholders, among other criticisms. That would change rules that determine who is granted standing to officially participate in development hearings.

He submitted a position to the AUC shortly after Premier Danielle Smith announced the moratorium on renewable power projects in early August.

The AUC announced some details of the review in late August, and has said some work will continue on specific applications. This week the opposition New Democrats blasted the timeline and said three public hearings in three rural locations are not enough.

“Albertans in so many places in the province are being left out from this consultation,” said MLA Nagwan Al-Guneid, the party’s critic for energy, climate and utilities.

She said the schedule leaves out Lethbridge and the opinions of urban Albertans, adding that the prorated process is hurting investment decisions.

“What has the AUC been doing? Where is their analysis? It took them two months just to release a schedule, a list of questions, and four contracts,” Al-Guneid said.

The AUC released some scope of public consultations in a bulletin on its website Wednesday, outlining meetings in Red Deer (Nov. 2), Medicine Hat (Nov. 7) and Pincher Creek (Nov. 8) that will take place in early November.

The local meeting would be held on a Tuesday evening from 3-8 p.m. at the Wyndham Garden hotel and conference centre on Seventh Street SW.

The AUC also plans to hear oral arguments in a virtual format to registered parties from Dec. 4-8. Submissions from municipalities and other organizations are scheduled from Dec. 11-15, though specifics are yet to be released.

The AUC also plans to release its own expert reports by Nov. 10, then gather submitted feedback.