Financiers of green energy projects often claim in public filings that the energy generated by the projects they have financed has avoided some definite number of tons of CO2 emissions. Run the numbers, and you usually find they have assumed…
“E” vs “SG” in ethical investing: how sustainable is mollification-by-cherrypicking
In the great game of whack-a-mole that is capital raising in Canada’s oil patch, it must be frustrating, for those whose full-time job when there isn’t a global pandemic is whacking the moles of ESG criteria on which they feel…
Green bonds, greenwash, and risk: how to tame the new Wild West
What makes a green bond green? A cynic might say the easy answer lies in the word “green”: take a bond, put the word “green” before the word “bond,” and congratulations—you have created a green bond. In reality, to sell…
New wind farm in Alberta comes online September 1: AA, anyone?
The Whitla Wind project phase I came onto Alberta’s grid yesterday (September 1 2019) around 1:05 pm local time. Phase 1 is 202 megawatts capacity, making it the second-largest farm in the province— Blackspring Ridge, at 300 MW, is the…
Alberta’s coal phaseout: can wind replace coal?
Last time I started to unpack the inherently dismal performance and underlying economics of wind power in Alberta. The whole reason Alberta has started this dysfunctional relationship with wind is because it has a dream that wind will somehow replace…
The cost of wind power in Alberta
I keep watching Alberta’s electricity system operator’s website for new grid-connected wind farms, beyond the 20 ones that existed in mid-2018. As of today, July 9 2019, at 13:53 eastern time (11:53 Mountain time), that number is unchanged—the total capacity…