Alberta's Renewable Energy Sabotage: Time For Federal Intervention - CleanTechnica

The article highlights Alberta’s newly introduced reclamation security requirements for renewable energy projects, set to take effect by May 31, 2025, which are described as unprecedentedly severe and punitive. Developers must post securities equal to 30% of anticipated decommissioning costs at project start, increasing to 60% after 15 years, with these rules applied retroactively to existing projects by 2027. The exclusion of salvage value from these calculations inflates financial burdens well beyond international norms, making Alberta’s requirements the highest globally. This regulatory shift contrasts sharply with Alberta’s historically lax reclamation policies for fossil fuel industries, which have accumulated tens of billions in unfunded cleanup liabilities with minimal upfront financial assurances, effectively shifting cleanup costs to taxpayers. The article argues that this move represents a politically motivated, ideologically driven attack on the renewable energy sector, undermining investor confidence by breaking contractual norms through retroactive application of harsh financial obligations. Such instability threatens to halt billions in investments and push companies to relocate