Pembina urges governments to remove renewable restrictions

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on March 11, 2026.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

A new report from the Pembina Institute is calling for the Alberta and federal governments to remove obstacles the province has placed on renewable energy generation over the course of ongoing talks about emissions policy.

The November memorandum of understanding being Alberta and Ottawa suspended clean energy regulations pending a negotiated agreement on carbon pricing by Apr. 1.

Since the MOU was signed, the province and federal government have been engaged in conversations about how Alberta can independently work to achieve its commitment to a net-zero grid by 2050.

The new report finds Alberta’s long-term plan to meet that benchmark by 2050 relies on carbon capture and nuclear energy projects.

Senior analyst Will Noel, the report’s author, argues that these measures are costly and operate on a longtime horizon that can easily be delayed or cancelled altogether.

“In addition to recalibrating its plans, Alberta must commit to stop disincentivizing low-cost and quick-to-deploy resources such as wind and solar that can deliver emissions reductions in the near term,” wrote Noel.

Since the provincial government began implementing new restrictions on renewable energy development, new wind, solar and storage installations have declined 93 per cent since 2022.

The province imposed a seven-month moratorium on new renewable project approvals in 2023.

Other rules introduced since then include 35-kilometre buffer zones to prevent wind projects from being constructed in protected areas and other “pristine viewpoints,” and a restructuring of the energy market that experts say penalizes renewable forms of generation for their intermittency.

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