Kneehill County has the support of Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) with its position to lobby the Alberta government to make the electricity grid more stable.
A resolution brought forward by Kneehill County received support from the RMA at its annual Convention held from November 4-7 in Edmonton.
The resolution reads “Be it resolved that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate to the Government of Alberta to adopt requirements for Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)-approved renewable energy developments to have an identified minimum amount of electricity available to contribute to Alberta’s electrical grid on demand.”
The rationale brought forward is that renewable energy has been quickly coming on board as “Federal policies, including the Climate Change Plan and Clean Electricity Regulations, have influenced the Government of Alberta’s renewable energy strategies. These policies provide funding and support for renewable energy projects and set national targets for greenhouse gas reductions.”
It notes that while the shift towards renewables has brought benefits, including increased property tax revenues and job creation, it has also brought challenges including land use conflicts.
“There is a prevailing sentiment that the influence of our rural communities at the provincial level has been marginalized,” the resolution notes.
“The AUC continues to make decisions in ‘the public interest’ seemingly without considering the public interest pertaining to the electrical grid’s stability. An electrical grid must be reliable, resilient, and stable. At the present time, renewable energy developments do not appear able to support these requirements.”
This resolution hopes to rectify some of these issues by creating a stable electrical grid.
Once a resolution is passed by the membership it becomes an item that is advocated by the RMA. They are sent to the appropriate government ministries and applicable organizations for response.
The RMA develops positions and key messages and is often the focus of meetings with government ministers.
Resolutions have a three-year life cycle.
