The Bennett Jones New Energy Economy Series focuses on the future of Canada's energy industry and will look at key developments at the provincial and federal levels and what they mean for businesses and investors.
On November 5, 2021, the Government of Alberta released its Hydrogen Roadmap (the H2 Roadmap), which presents the government's policy framework for encouraging a domestic market for clean hydrogen and capitalizing on an anticipated multi-billion dollar global hydrogen economy. As discussed in our prior posts on the New Energy Economy, Alberta's move follows similar strategies released earlier by the governments of British Columbia and Canada, as well as strategies released in Germany and the EU, Japan and South Korea and Australia.
The Government of Saskatchewan has recently implemented a number of regulatory changes to assist energy projects. These changes further expand and refine the Ministry of Energy and Resources 2019 Petroleum Innovation Incentive Program (PIIP or SPII) and the 2020 Oil Infrastructure Investment Program (OIIP). Additionally, the programs now go beyond oil and gas to include carbon dioxide projects and helium projects.
Vivek Warrier comments in the Financial Post on activity in Canada's oil & gas industry and in renewable energy and what it has meant for law firms.
Bennett Jones acted for ATCO Ltd. in its acquisition of the Empress Solar Project, a 39 MW photovoltaic solar facility under development in Alberta. This marks another step in ATCO's commitment to contribute to the decarbonization of the electricity grid while enabling customers to reduce the carbon intensity of their energy.
Duncan McPherson comments in Hydrogen Economist on British Columbia’s comprehensive hydrogen strategy. He explains that, "many regulatory changes are needed to lay the foundation for a successful hydrogen industry in the province. The two most important changes are regulations to allow carbon capture and storage to open the door for blue hydrogen production in the province, and regulations to provide water rights to green hydrogen projects since electrolysers need a lot of water.”
On July 6, 2021, the Government of British Columbia released its Hydrogen Strategy outlining 63 actions to be undertaken over the short-term (2020-25), medium-term (2025-30) and long-term (2030-50) to make B.C. a leader in local hydrogen adoption and global hydrogen business.
On June 2, 2021, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced its Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) in support of Canada's ongoing effort to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
On May 12, 2021, the Government of Alberta issued a statement to announce that it will now be granting carbon sequestration rights through a competitive process. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) is a method where a large volume of carbon dioxide is captured, transported, and injected into the ground to be permanently stored.
Bennett Jones is acting for ATCO Ltd. in a potential world-scale hydrogen project in Alberta. ATCO is collaborating with Suncor Energy Inc. on early stage design and engineering for a potential clean hydrogen project near Fort Saskatchewan.
On May 7, 2021, Bill 34, The Fuel Tax Amendment Act, 2021 passed the third reading in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Bill 34 amends Saskatchewan's The Fuel Tax Act, 2020 and The Financial Administration Act, 1993 to introduce a new road use charge for electric vehicles (EVs). While similar charges have been introduced in certain U.S. states, this is the first tax of its kind in Canada and is intended to offset the impacts on the provincial fuel tax associated with EVs.
In the first in a series of podcasts exploring the new energy economy, emerging trends and technologies transforming the energy industry, Vivek Warrier hosts a discussion with three special guests: the honorable Doug Schweitzer, Alberta Provincial Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation, Bob Myles, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development of the ATCO Group, and Kenryo Mizutani, Senior Researcher in the Vancouver office of the Japan Oil and Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).
It is an exciting time in the Canadian energy industry, but also a pivotal one. We need to maximize the value of our current energy resources, and continue to develop new lower-carbon sources that customers want to buy, to help drive growth and to make our economy more resilient and diversified.
Following its recent announcement of A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, an accelerated climate plan for Canada, the Government of Canada released the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada: Seizing the Opportunities for Hydrogen on December 16, 2020. The Strategy seeks to galvanize Canadian production, use, and export of clean hydrogen as an important element in reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, while maintaining Canada's role as a leading global energy player.
Bennett Jones was proud to present The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's Energy Forum. Global trends such as technological acceleration, geopolitical shifts, deglobalization and financial distress are presenting new challenges and opportunities that are changing our energy landscape.
Alberta's Industrial Heartland is well-positioned to play a foundational role in developing Canada's hydrogen economy.
With the newly announced Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program (APIP), the Alberta government intends to attract $30 billion in new investments by 2030.
Following the release of Alberta's Recovery Plan, which included plans to diversify Alberta's economy and develop a new energy strategy, the Alberta government has made a series of announcements on plans to develop strategies and regulations to assist in the diversification of the province's energy industry. After its announcement on October 7, 2020, to develop a geothermal strategy, the Honourable Sonya Savage, the Minister of Energy, introduced Bill 36, Geothermal Resource Development Act, on October 20. When enacted, Alberta will be the second province in Canada after British Columbia to have geothermal-specific legislation.
The Government of Alberta is laying out its plans to diversify and grow the province’s energy industry. The goal is to position the sector for responsible energy development in a post-pandemic world. Major announcements have been made and there are more to come in the fall of 2020 and early 2021. This is the first in Bennett Jones' New Energy Economy Series on the future of Canada's energy industry. We will look at key developments at the provincial and federal levels and what they mean for businesses and investors.
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