Old King Coal has left the building — six years early.Or at least, Capital Power’s Genesee 2 power plant west of Edmonton. That’s because the last remaining coal fired plant was officially shut down on Sunday and has likely burned its last lump, marking the end of a nearly 130-year era in Alberta. Instead, the facility will be converted to natural gas..In a news release on Tuesday, Capital Power confirmed what observers had been expecting all along — that its units are now “100% natural gas fuelled.”"This achievement marks a significant moment in history for this legacy, baseload facility that has delivered reliable and affordable power to Alberta for more than 30 years," senior vice-president Jason Comandante said..Since 1891, Alberta has relied on coal for the majority of its power, starting with the first plant on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River built by Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company.Even as far back as 2001 coal accounted for about 80% of Alberta’s electricity production.But in 2015, former premier Rachel Notley announced plans to completely phase out coal by 2030 as part of a bid to meet Ottawa’s ambitious climate policies.Even then, critics said it couldn’t be done.The transition would have been impossible without widespread adoption of natural gas. Consequently, Alberta’s electricity emissions have been cut by more than half in less than a decade. Electricity amounted to about 40 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2015 and had fallen to around 19 million tonnes by 2022.."Our investment in this facility will result in the most efficient natural gas combined cycle plant in Canada — a feat that significantly reduces emissions while delivering more megawatts of reliable, affordable and clean capacity."Meanwhile, coal still accounts for about a third of Saskatchewan’s power with no plans to eliminate it entirely until 2050, more than 25 years behind Alberta. Saskatchewan is the largest emitter in Canada on a per capita basis, accounting for about 22% of total greenhouse gas despite the fact it has barely a million people.
Old King Coal has left the building — six years early.Or at least, Capital Power’s Genesee 2 power plant west of Edmonton. That’s because the last remaining coal fired plant was officially shut down on Sunday and has likely burned its last lump, marking the end of a nearly 130-year era in Alberta. Instead, the facility will be converted to natural gas..In a news release on Tuesday, Capital Power confirmed what observers had been expecting all along — that its units are now “100% natural gas fuelled.”"This achievement marks a significant moment in history for this legacy, baseload facility that has delivered reliable and affordable power to Alberta for more than 30 years," senior vice-president Jason Comandante said..Since 1891, Alberta has relied on coal for the majority of its power, starting with the first plant on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River built by Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company.Even as far back as 2001 coal accounted for about 80% of Alberta’s electricity production.But in 2015, former premier Rachel Notley announced plans to completely phase out coal by 2030 as part of a bid to meet Ottawa’s ambitious climate policies.Even then, critics said it couldn’t be done.The transition would have been impossible without widespread adoption of natural gas. Consequently, Alberta’s electricity emissions have been cut by more than half in less than a decade. Electricity amounted to about 40 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2015 and had fallen to around 19 million tonnes by 2022.."Our investment in this facility will result in the most efficient natural gas combined cycle plant in Canada — a feat that significantly reduces emissions while delivering more megawatts of reliable, affordable and clean capacity."Meanwhile, coal still accounts for about a third of Saskatchewan’s power with no plans to eliminate it entirely until 2050, more than 25 years behind Alberta. Saskatchewan is the largest emitter in Canada on a per capita basis, accounting for about 22% of total greenhouse gas despite the fact it has barely a million people.
