Grants ‘nice,’ but tax a concern

The grant now covers 75 per cent of the purchase costs, up from 35 per cent, and provides up to $750,000, a major increase from the $50,000 cap that was in place previously.

Karen Kirkwood, executive director of Alberta Chicken Producers, said the changes should encourage more of her members to buy energy efficient equipment.

But she said producers remain worried about the impact of the carbon tax.

Based on natural gas use among its members last year, the association estimates the average producer will pay at least $6,000 annually in carbon taxes, raising fears the added costs will make them less competitive.

New spending on efficiency grants are “a nice short-term measure, which we appreciate, but on a longer-term basis, the carbon price is certainly a concern for the industry,” Kirkwood said.

“The risk for our industry is that our customers, which are processors, could choose to procure their product from other provinces or other jurisdictions.”

As part of the grant changes, a program that assists farmers with the purchase of grid-connected solar panel systems will also get a funding boost.

The changes raise the existing funding cap within the Irrigation Efficiency Program — which helps producers improve water efficiency and reduce energy use by investing in new irrigation equipment — and to help food processors retrofit their plants with energysaving technology.

Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said approximately 700 producers annually already take advantage of these programs, and the additional funding should result in an even greater uptake.

The investment increases the pot of money available to farmers through these programs to nearly $16 million from the current $5.6 million.

“There are some sectors of agriculture that are more energyintensive, including the intensive livestock operations, greenhouse operators and irrigation projects,” Carlier said.

“I would suspect a lot of these operations are going to see this as an opportunity to finally get into the program.”

In an interview, Carlier said he believes farmers want to do their part in the fight against climate change, but acknowledged his government has heard concerns from the agriculture industry about the economic impact of Alberta’s new carbon levy, set to take effect Jan. 1.

While farmers will be exempt from paying the carbon tax on

The risk for our industry is that our customers … could choose to procure their product from other provinces or other jurisdictions.

purchases of on-farm fuel, they will still have to pay it on their electricity and natural gas bills, something farm groups say will add significantly to the cost of heating barns or running electric irrigation systems.

The Alberta Cattle Feeders Association has said the carbon tax will cost feedlot operators — for whom trucking is a major expense — between $6 and $7 a head. In September, Western Feedlots Ltd., one of the country’s largest cattle feeders, shut down entirely, blaming NDP government policy as well as market conditions for its decision.

Carlier said as revenues from the carbon tax become available, the government expects to be able to do more to help the agriculture industry become more energy efficient and reduce the burden of the carbon levy.

“I don’t want anyone to think that this program, which I think is going to help a lot, is the end-all,” Carlier said, adding the government is also reviewing Alberta’s carbon offset protocols which allow farmers to collect offsets for carbon sequestration.

Funding will come from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund, which the province’s large emitters pay into, as well as revenues from the economy-wide carbon tax once that comes into effect.