Canada's Renewable Power – Alberta

Alberta

Alberta

Hydro power station at snowy lake in Canmore, with mountain in the background.

Fossil fuels generate most of Alberta’s electricity, but the province emerged over the past decade as a leading producer of wind energy in Canada. Between 2010 and 2017, Alberta’s wind capacity doubled. Wind capacity is projected to double again by 2023 as Alberta continues with its phase out of coal-fired generation.

Generation Trends

Electricity generation in Alberta has historically been dominated by coal and natural gas. In recent years, however, generation has shifted from coal towards more natural gas. Between 2010 and 2018, coal-fired generation declined from 37 567 gigawatts (GW.h) to 35 044 GW.h – from 53.4% of Alberta’s total generation to 42.1%. Over that same period, natural gas-fired generation grew from 27 595 GW.h to 40 579 GW h. Total thermal generation in 2018 was 75 739 GW.h, or 90.9% of total generation.

Alberta has a long history with wind energy. Commercial wind developments started in southern Alberta in the mid-1990s. Since 2010, wind generation in the province has more than doubled – from 1 629 GW.h in 2010 to 4 119 GW.h in 2018. Alberta also has some hydro and biomass facilities, and small, but growing generation from solar. Total renewable generation in 2018 was 7 538 GW.h, or 9.1% of total generation.

Total electricity generation in Alberta grew from 70 346 GW.h in 2010 to 83 277 GW.h in 2018. Changes in Alberta’s electricity generation mix are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Electricity Generation in Alberta

Electricity Generation in Alberta
Source and Description

Source: CER   Canada’s Energy Future 2020 (EF2020)

Description: This graph illustrates electricity generation from 2010 to 2018 in Alberta. In 2010, Alberta’s total generation was 65 188 GW.h (7.3% renewable). In 2018, total generation was 83 277 GW.h (9.1% renewable).

GHG Emissions from Electricity Generation

In 2018, Alberta’s electricity sector emitted 36.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT of CO2e). Alberta’s generation intensity was 630 grams of CO2e per kilowatt-hour.

Alberta produced 52% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in 2018.

Recent and Projected Capacity Changes for Renewables

Between 2010 and 2017, Alberta added a net 718 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity, primarily in the form of wind (744 MW). Alberta also had a net reduction of 68 MW of biomass capacity over this period. Between 2017 and 2023, Alberta is projected to add 1 990 MW of new net renewable capacity. These capacity changes are illustrated in Figure 2 with data provided in Table 1.

Recent and future projects included in the projection are:

Over the medium term, no new growth is expected from hydro in Alberta. It is also expected that coal-fired capacity will continue to shrink while natural gas-fired capacity continues to grow. Between 2017 and 2023, coal capacity is projected to decline by 3 107 MW while natural gas capacity is projected to expand by 4 055 MW.

A notable capacity contraction occurred in 2016 when the Cowley Ridge wind facility was retired by TransAlta after 23 years of service. Cowley Ridge was Canada’s first commercial wind farm and had a capacity of 16 MW at the time of retirement.

Figure 2. Electricity Capacity and Future Changes in Alberta

Electricity Capacity and Future Changes in Alberta
Source and Description

Source: CER – EF2020

Description: This graph illustrates historical electricity capacity from 2010 to 2017 in Alberta and the CER’s projection of future capacity changes from 2018 to 2023. In 2010, Alberta’s total installed electricity capacity was 12 862 MW (15.1% renewable). In 2017, capacity had grown to 16 555 MW (16.0% renewable). By 2023, total capacity is projected to grow to 20 172 MW (26.4% renewable).

Table 1. Electricity Capacity (2010 – 2023) and Generation (2010 and 2018) in Alberta

  Capacity in MW and % Generation in GW.h and %
  2010 2017 2018 2020 2023 2010 2018
      ---------- Projected ----------    
Hydroelectricity 874 894 894 894 894 1 620 1 991
6.8% 5.4% 5.5% 5.4% 4.4% 2.3% 2.4%
Wind 723 1 467 1 467 1 746 2 826 1 629 4 119
5.6% 8.9% 9.0% 10.5% 14.0% 2.3% 4.9%
Biomass / Geothermal 340 273 273 314 368 1 909 1 428
2.6% 1.6% 1.7% 1.9% 1.8% 2.7% 1.7%
Solar 0 21 36 36 1236 0 0
0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 6.1% 0.0% 0.0%
All Renewable Sources 1 937 2 655 2 670 2 990 5 324 5 158 7 538
15.1% 16.0% 16.3% 18.0% 26.4% 7.3% 9.1%
Coal and Coke 5 591 6 143 5 555 5 400 3 036 37 567 35 044
43.5% 37.1% 34.0% 32.5% 15.0% 53.4% 42.1%
Natural Gas 5 327 7 750 8 100 8 193 11 805 27 595 40 579
41.4% 46.8% 49.6% 49.4% 58.5% 39.2% 48.7%
Oil and Diesel 7 7 7 7 7 27 116
0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1%
All Thermal Sources 10 925 13 900 13 662 13 600 14 848 65 188 75 739
84.9% 84.0% 83.7% 82.0% 73.6% 92.7% 90.9%
All Sources 12 862 16 555 16 332 16 590 20 172 70 346 83 277
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