Climate Change and the Law

PART ONE – AN INTRODUCTION TO MITIGATION IN ALBERTA of greenhouse gases” with the ultimate goal of mitigation being to address and lessen the negative effects of climate change.”2 To begin, this primer will take a closer look at energy conservation and efficiency, expanding upon why we need to focus on energy efficiency if we want to mitigate the effects of climate change, and evaluating the ways [...] PART ONE – AN INTRODUCTION TO MITIGATION IN ALBERTA Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects: The Regulatory Framework The majority of renewable projects are likely to engage one, or both, of two provincial government bodies: the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) enabled by the Alberta Utilities Commission Act and Hydro and Electric Energy Act40 and Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), the ministry [...] The Hydro and Electric Energy Act defines a ‘power plant’ as, facilities for the generation and gathering of electric energy from any source.49 This Act also establishes rules and requirements specifically for hydroelectricity and the generation and transmission of other forms of electricity in the province. [...] Finally, the Act specifies that no person shall construct or operate a power plant unless approved by the AUC.50 Applications to the AUC, as required by the Hydro and Electric Energy Act, and for the construction and operation of power plants and substations, must also comply with the AUC’s own rules, in particular Rule 007 and Rule 012. [...] These activities are set out in the schedule to the Act and include references to the processing of wood products (relevant to bioenergy), the generating of thermal electric power or steam and the drilling of a well other than for water (both of which may trigger a requirement for geothermal assessments), the generating of wind electric power, the generating of solar electric power and the generat