AltaLink, Alberta's largest regulated electricity transmission company, says it is committed to reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and enabling new, renewable generation in the Canadian province.
During the third quarter of 2015, the company submitted a proposal to Alberta's Climate Change Advisory Panel with recommendations for greening the grid and lowering emissions.
AltaLink says its plan includes suggestions for attracting investment in renewable generation development through a process that provides long-term contracts and recommendations for minimizing the cost of coal retirement. The recommendations include removing coal generation from general daily use and using existing coal capacity only as a reliability back up at times of low renewable generation or as a temporary contributor during periods of peak demand.
‘AltaLink understands Alberta's electricity sector. It's all we do. So we know that reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable electricity for Alberta's businesses and families depends on a diversified portfolio of resources that includes renewables, cogeneration and other gas-fired generation, energy efficiency, and strong access to regional markets,’ says Scott Thon, AltaLink's president and CEO.
The company also says that its latest project energization in the third quarter of this year supports the continuing growth of Alberta's wind energy sector. Together with the Foothills Area Transmission Development projects energized earlier in 2015, the South Foothills Transmission Project (SFTP), between the Fort Macleod and High River areas, delivers increased capacity to transmit electricity from wind farms in southern Alberta to the homes, farms and businesses across the province, says AltaLink.
‘Alberta has tremendous potential for generating new, green wind energy,’ states Thon. ‘With the completion of SFTP on time and on budget, we have removed a significant barrier to bringing wind energy from where it's generated to where it's needed. In addition, we are currently consulting on a project in Southern Alberta that will provide considerable additional system capacity for wind producers.’
