MLA Report: Renewable energy offers a bright future

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on January 25, 2019.

There are those who may question global climate change but that doesn’t change the fact our region’s renewable resources are continuing to grow in value, increasing new job opportunities in this corner of the province.

Where once our city — the Gas City — tapped into the natural resources beneath Medicine Hat to power our homes, businesses and industry, the potential for renewable energy positions us well for the future, making us “Alberta’s Energy Central.”

Medicine Hat’s publicly owned utility has been a municipal leader in Canada starting in 2008 with its HatSmart program. That program charged a levy on high volume utility consumers to help fund energy efficiency programs as well as home and business-based renewable energy production.

Beginning in 2007, the provincial government put a price on carbon emissions for large industrial emitters with those funds put towards low- and no-emission technologies.

In the decade since those initiatives were launched, the infrastructure was built to move southeastern Alberta’s renewable energy through upgraded transmission lines.

Our current government’s Climate Leadership Plan has moved the puck over the blue line. Given we have the best renewable energy resources in the country, southeastern Alberta can now pick up that pass and score the goal.

Regardless of what people might think of global climate change or what the government of the day may be, southeastern Albertans have an incredible opportunity that can be tapped for the economic benefit of our region and our families.

Anyone representing the interests of southeastern Alberta who doesn’t see the economic potential of our resources and champion them, simply doesn’t represent the best interest of southeastern Albertans.

Wind and solar projects offer the opportunity to southeastern Alberta’s grazing leaseholders for a revenue source to replace the surface access agreements lost due to the rock-bottom price of natural gas.

These projects provide opportunities to local metal fabricators, welding shops, electricians and all sorts of tradesmen and women who are looking to make southeastern Alberta home.

This city’s service industry from restaurants to real estate agents all stand to benefit from this increased economic activity.

Southeastern Alberta has the opportunity to tap into the future with the integrated energy production of renewables as well as gas and oil. Both federal and provincial governments have committed billions upon billions of dollars to develop the oilsands since the 1920s. Past federal and provincial governments fostered government policies which helped develop the oil sands industry from the time of the first commercial oil sands production facility being built in the 1960s until today. Why would anyone not advocate for public and private investment to develop southeastern Alberta’s energy resources?

As MLA for Medicine Hat since 2015, I fought hard for the development of energy resources in southeastern Alberta.

Since 2017, energy projects were announced in Oyen, Whitla, Cypress Hills and two in the Jenner area which will bring hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to our region.

Wayne Gretzky once said, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”