Jim Prentice, federal environment minister, stated that he is trying to establish a cap-and-trade system to lower greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. He stated that the proposal also covers phasing out of old coal power stations when they reach the end of their life. New power stations would have to incorporate carbon capture and storage technology.
Prentice is likely to consult industry officials regarding the new rules, which are likely to be issued in the later part of 2009.
Coal-fired power stations account for a major portion of Canada’s emissions. TransAlta runs the biggest fleet of coal-fired power stations in Canada.
Snyder asserted that TransAlta and other power producers are endeavoring to decrease emissions. However, it will take some time for technology to be established and implemented. Snyder voiced his doubts regarding the federal government’s pledge to advance the technology as its funding contributions account for only a small part of Alberta’s $2 billion development fund.
He added “I’m not sure why we seem to want to put billions of dollars into the automotive sector to keep an industry going that seems not to have a good product and hasn’t been particularly well run, but we don’t want to put a fraction of that into technology to solve carbon for coal plants. Alberta is putting the money in; federally there is very little money going into carbon capture.”
Ottawa invested $140 million in a number of carbon capture and storage projects in March 2009, including TransAlta’s proposal to retrofit one of its coal-fired power stations. Alberta’s shortlist for funding includes Project Pioneer, a joint endeavor with Alstrom Canada.
However the project, estimated to cost nearly $500 million, is not likely to proceed without backing from the government.
Snyder said “Getting CO2 out of our system is going to cost money. There is no way around it. We need some form of support to get it done.”
