Amount generated from electricity sources varies

Editor:

In Alberta it is interesting where we get our electricity from. Unlike most provinces we get our electricity from a variety of means and providers. Natural gas 60 per cent, wind 20 per cent, coal seven per cent, hydro six per cent, solar six per cent, others four per cent. This equals 103 per cent as of July 2023, (a moment in time snapshot).

What we all need to appreciate is how dramatic these various sources can change. Alberta has a website - “Current Supply Demand Report”- which shows exactly where all our power comes from, by source and location.

In other words, is shows every source of generation, including windmill farm or solar field in the province and is updated every five minutes: ets.aeso.ca/

ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServlet

As an example of of dramatic change on Nov. 6, 2023 at 5:59 a.m. wind produced 1331 Mega Watts (MW ) and solar produced 0 MW.

On Nov. 6 at 1:38 p.m. wind produced 246 MW, solar produced 430 MW. That is more than 650 MW unavailable between measured time periods.

An important point is that electricity generated must be used at exactly the time it is generated - there is no storage. The report does have a column for storage but in the years I have been watching, I have not seen an entry.

I started this letter shortly after my first letter on this subject was published on Dec. 9. Now it is mid January and we have experienced some of the coldest weather we have seen in a long time: Jan. 12th -39C with windchill of -53 C.

So, on this day at 8:36 p.m. we were using 1,1175 MW (almost our maximum) of power. It came from natural gas (NG) 9,218 MW, hydro 341 MW, coal 813 MW, solar 0 MW, wind 10 MW, all others 794 MW.

The simple fact about renewables such as solar and wind is that on our coldest days or hottest days there is very little wind and of course no sun, no solar.

It is worth noting that in January 2022, the province had 13 solar fields and 26 wind generation farms.

In January 2024 we had 43 solar fields and 45 wind generation farms. With this rapid expansion, it’s little wonder why the Alberta government put a pause on renewable expansion. No one wants another orphan wells fiasco.

There must be a plan on how to deal with these facilities at “end of life”. There presently is not one.

I know we will most likely never go back to coal power generation, unlike countries like Germany but there is a lesson here, on rapidly changing power supply sources. In December 2021 with six coal plants, they produced 2,028 MW of electricity. In January 2022 with four coal plants, they produced 1,677 MW and in January 2024, with the last two plants, they produced 813 MW of electricity. I know coal is dead, but keep in mind, these plants operated 24/7 365 days a year, producing power in all weather conditions, day, or night.

So, what’s the lesson? If our present, Canadian Minister of the Environment, Mr. Steven Guilbeault, gets his way regarding zero emissions by 2035, I think Albertans will find themselves freezing in the cold and dark in winter or being very uncomfortable in the heat of the summer.

If you shut down all-natural gas and coal generation, which adds up to on average 9,700 MW the industry would have to build an equivalent of 7 x 45 = 315 wind generating farms (with an average 1,000 MW per farm) = 7000 MW. Plus, have nine solar fields the size of the Travers field, which is in the County of Vulcan (with sun light, it produces 302 MW) 9 x 302 MW = 2,718 MW.

Travers solar field is one of the largest solar field in North America, taking up 3,300 acres with 1.3 million solar panels.

Just remember, the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. Barrie Orich

Lethbridge