By Shasta Kadonaga, Director of Renewable Energy, Solas Energy Alberta renewable energy operators are approaching a critical regulatory milestone. Under the Code of Practice for Solar and Wind Renewable Energy Operations, operating projects must register and comply with updated reclamation planning requirements for existing Alberta sites by January 1, 2027. This requirement extends beyond simply…
Alberta’s identity is tied to the land and the elements: wide-open skies, big horizons, and the kind of wind that inspired Ian Tyson’s iconic song “Four Strong Winds.” We’ve always been an energy province. The question now is whether those same defining features—our wind and our sun—can help power the next chapter of Alberta’s economy,…
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy For decades, diesel has underpinned power generation in remote and industrial operations. Mines, ports, isolated facilities, and northern communities have relied on it not because it is elegant or efficient, but because it is dependable. It can be shipped in, stored on site, and dispatched when needed….
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy Canada’s 2025 federal budget is not a national energy strategy, nor is it a comprehensive climate roadmap. Rather, it is a finance-oriented policy document that reflects how the federal government currently understands its role in Canada’s energy transition, particularly in a context where electricity systems are constitutionally…
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy What we tell ourselves matters, but it must be challenged. Leaders often gravitate toward familiar voices, but doing so can make it harder to spot new risks or opportunities. ESG has become a loaded term in some circles, dismissed as jargon or written off as a passing…
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy Alberta has long enjoyed a reputation, deservedly so, as the unlikely pioneer of industrial carbon pricing in North America. When the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER) took effect in 2007, Alberta was years ahead of its time. It built quantification methods, verification processes, registries, and compliance rules…
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy The Canadian European Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed in 2016 between Canada and the European Union meant to reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. More recently, at the June 2025 European Summit in Brussels, the Canadian prime minister and the European commissioner issued a statement…
By Paula McGarrigle, President & CEO, Solas Energy I decided to leave Shell Canada in December 2008. At the time, I was Manager of Wind Power, working on projects across the country, and had just closed the White Deer Wind Farm transaction in Texas. During my near-decade with Shell, the company’s stance on renewable energy…
By Shasta Kadonaga, Director of Renewable Energy, Solas Energy On May 31, 2025, the Government of Alberta released the Code of Practice for Solar and Wind Renewable Energy Operations (CoP). This new Code of Practice builds upon the existing Conservation and Reclamation Directive for Renewable Energy Operations (C&R Directive) released in 2018. However, this new…