It’s not often an oil company CEO sells his company to run for provincial politics, becoming the leader of an upstart party in the process. But that’s exactly what Jon Hromek has done. And as someone coming from industry, his thoughts on energy transition, CO2 and coal differ from a lot of the other politicians in Saskatchewan, or for that matter, Canada.
Pipeline company comes to oil town to build a wind project, and gets hostile response
You’d have thought they were proposing a pipeline in Nebraska.
This was a very hostile crowd. I’m surprised no one brought out a pitchfork or torch. I’m sure the Enbridge folks figured they were now working for TransCanada, running a Keystone XL open house in the States.
Meanwhile, in Alberta, on Sunday:
That followed this story on Friday which went viral:
Alberta’s wind power flatlines again this week, hitting 1 megawatt out of a capacity of 4748
And if you didn’t see this, it’s worth the hour.
Jordan Peterson Podcast: Danielle Smith on Bill C-59, freedom of speech, CO2, wind, solar and more
Facebook loved it so much, they immediately pulled down the post, claiming it “violated community standards” as spam.
And, as promised yesterday, more on those Clean Electricity Regulations that mean even MORE wind and solar, and no more coal or natural gas without carbon capture.
Clean Electricity Regulations: Cenovus Energy (Detailed, with recommendations)
And maybe Wilkinson thinks aforementioned wind turbines will power all those electric heat pumps, when it’s cold, and when it’s hot. What am I saying? Of course he does.
Liberal energy minister promises ban on oil furnaces for new builds as soon as 2028
Also:
TC Energy’s US$15B Keystone XL claim thrown out by trade tribunal
It turns out developing more wind in Manitoba is a big deal for Manitoba Hydro – CEO sacking sorta big deal.
Alberta to relax rule on buying oil, gas wells if municipal taxes unpaid
The Lloydminster Heavy Oil Show is coming up in just under two months. I’ll be there if anyone would like to say hello. I’m identifiable by the fat guy with all the cameras sitting at the front.
And since everyone is talking about the Trump assimilation attempt, I have to say, Peter Zeihan’s video about it this morning is the worst I’ve ever seen from him – and I’m generally a huge fan of his work. His disappointment that it wasn’t successful shows through. Maybe it’s because he’s been saying Biden in a landslide – well, that’s not going to happen now.
Alberta’s last coal plant shuts down, and days later, a grid alert is declared.
Oh, and that new grid-scale battery that SaskPower just went $10 million over the initial announced price on – Alberta has 10 (albeit a different manufacturer). Three haven’t lit a light bulb since March, and they were no shows on Monday.
But that’s okay, the Pembina Institute wrote a piece celebrating the end of coal, which they strongly advocated for over many years. They published it two days before the grid alert.
And it’s going to be hot two more days in Alberta. Anyone want to make a bet there will be more grid alerts?
Again, Alberta has more coal, oil and gas than God, because God gave all of his to Alberta. For that province to ever be running short of energy is a result of sheer incompetence at the top. And Saskatchewan is following that path – shutting down coal, building more wind, solar, and now batteries. SaskPower has had announcements for all three in recent weeks. Will I be writing about Saskatchewan grid alerts, because we failed to heed what is happening west of us?
Read the Government of Canada’s submission, written by Guilbeault
The proposed Clean Electricity Regulations are among the most significant policy moves in recent Canadian history. The fundamental thrust is to all but eliminate fossil fuel combustion from the Canadian electrical grid. On any given day, up to 88 per cent of Saskatchewan’s power comes from natural gas and coal.
If implemented in their current form, they will utterly remake Canada, its economy and society. The Government of Saskatchewan, on June 25, rejected these regulations, based on a report by the Economic Impact Assessment Tribunal, convened under the Saskatchewan First Act. That act, in turn, was brought into law to counter numerous onerous federal climate change initiatives.
Within the tribunals report are all the submissions made by numerous companies and agencies, several of which Pipeline Online is publishing verbatim in the coming days and weeks. But perhaps the most significant was the Feb. 15 submission by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault, who, with Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, is one of the leading figures from the federal government on this front. As such, his submission is the stance of the federal government. Notably, he does not explain how Saskatchewan is to replace all of its fossil fuel-based power in the 10 years, five months and 30 days remaining from today. Here it is, verbatim
Weekend Watch: The problem with wind energy. There’s a lot in here, from gears to hydrogen. Check it out.
Three stories in the ongoing Clean Electricity Regulations saga, more to come.
Guilbeault counters Saskatchewan’s defiance of Clean Electricity Regulations, Eyre fires back
Sask NDP response to Clean Electricity Regulations tribunal report
Clean Electricity Regulations: Longhorn Oil & Gas submission
For a long time, Premier Scott Moe has been saying it’s impossible to comply with federal regulations regarding getting rid of our fossil-fueled power generation, in the timeline the federal Liberal government wants.
It’s coming to a head.
This is the first action of this type thus far under the Saskatchewan First Act. This is what it was meant for.
If implemented in their current form, the Clean Electricity Regulations mean to all but eliminate the burning of fossil fuels for power generation in 10 years, six months and three days from now. Saskatchewan relies on natural gas and coal to produce the vast majority of its power, up to 88 per cent on some days. And if implemented, these regulations will fundamentally alter Canada and its economy, and affect all of its people in one form or another. It’s one of the most important policy pieces in generations, seeking to remake Canada.
Saskatchewan won’t follow Clean Electricity Regulation, citing Economic Assessment Tribunal report.
Executive summary of the report
The government released all the submissions to the tribunal. I will be reprinting many of them over the coming days, maybe weeks. There’s a lot. And there’s a lot to be said.
I’ve been saying for a while now, this whole “energy transition” is the biggest story of our times. And the biggest part of that is implementation of the Clean Electricity Regulations, which will affect every person, business and industry in this country. On Tuesday, Saskatchewan said it’s not going to follow them, because they’re impossible to follow.
I will have numerous stories on this over the coming days and weeks, deep dives into what this is all about. I just got off the phone with one cabinet minister and will be talking to another in a few minutes. Watch for that in a bit. In the meantime, this is the executive summary of the report prepared for the Saskatchewan government, a report whose purpose is to give backing to our saying “F off” to the feds. That’s basically what Saskatchewan is doing.
Quick Dick McDick takes on Trudeau’s capital gains tax changes.
Saskatchewan government to back Indigenous investment into Weyburn wind project.
Minister Dustin Duncan and Minister Jeremy Harrison announced today that the Saskatchewan Indigenous Investment Finance Corporation will provide up to $100 million in loan guarantees to six Indigenous partners to support their investment in Enbridge's new renewable wind energy… pic.twitter.com/Y7a97gOIG2
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) June 24, 2024
Finally:
Alberta regulator projects 17 per cent growth in oilsands production by 2033
They’ve got some real geniuses in Alberta, I tell you.
A day after Alberta ceases coal-fired power generation, wind power flatlines for 19 hours. The last coal unit (now being converted to natural gas), typically produced 20x the output of the entire fleet of 1568 wind turbines was capable of last night.
Alberta’s rolling blackouts show we’re the frog being boiled.
Also:
Saskatchewan’s Top 10 oil producers in 2023.
A second LNG facility at Kitimat, Cedar LNG, is getting seriously closer to going ahead.
Indeed, companies like Baker Hughes are already crowing about getting contracts.
Zero. Zip. Nada: Wind power in Saskatchewan for over an hour on Friday, March 22 flatlines, again
Because of course it did.
How many times does one need to say, “again?”
Remember when Germany came to Canada, asking for liquefied natural gas, and were handed a weird wind and hydrogen project in Newfoundland instead? Looks like things are moving forward on that front.
But wait! This whole scheme is to build on-shore wind generation on the southwest corner of Newfoundland, and use that to turn water from an old mine into hydrogen. But since there’s only one very small ship on the entire planet that can ship liquid hydrogen (at 20 degrees above absolute zero), the Newfie wind-hydrogen will be converted to ammonia to ship to Germany. Got that?
Wouldn’t it be easier to just build the wind turbines in the German part of the North Sea instead?
And for something completely different: Brian Peckford was one of the premiers that signed the Constitution Act of 1982, which brought us the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Op-Ed: Brian Peckford: Now that we can amend our constitution, we have no leadership to do so
And since we’re talking about political bullshit, here’s a little bullshit.
Quick Dick McDick: How is a calf born, in 5 minutes or less
And Saskatchewan’s burgeoning helium industry is continuing to grow, using oil and gas services to do so.
North American Helium adding two more processing facilities in Saskatchewan
Saturn Oil & Gas has joined the multi-lateral bandwagon, having drilled two open hole multi-lateral wells that the Government of Saskatchewan announced an incentive for yesterday (shared yesterday)
I’ve been saying for over a year the Government of Saskatchewan needs to do something to increase drilling numbers. I’m wondering if this is it?
Also: Alberta’s shaking up its electrical grid by 2027. And in a related story, new rules for power generators in Alberta
Brian Zinchuk on Evan Bray Show: Coal, CO2 and what it means for oil production, wind in Alberta, Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, and a pile of listener calls. (Link is fixed)
Op-Ed: Kaase Gbakon: A (Hungry?) Tiger in Your Tank, Part 1
Don’t block our mountains or mess with good farmland: #Alberta releases renewable power rules. And reclamation is going to be paid up front. This story is the full meat, potatoes, gravy and carrots on Wednesday’s wind and solar announcement.
And what’s the pool at for Trudeau resigning today? It’s 40 years to the day since daddy took his “walk in the snow.”
Two days before Alberta is to lift its renewables pause, wind output falls to zero. Real reliable, that wind.
So they’ve built 45 wind farms so far, and they, in total, produced zero power. If they built 450, would that solve the problem?
And no, they’re not built with taxpayer dollars. But many are built for credits of all sorts.
The Friday before a long weekend, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault released his updates to the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations. This is the full update, verbatim.
In Pipeline Online’s continuing mission to ensure Canadians know exactly what Guilbeault is telling them, here’s his verbatim release on the Clean Electricity Regulations.
Remember what I said the previous week about taking out the trash day? Guilbeault did exactly that. Interesting, that.
And for something a little different, yesterday was Family Day. Not everyone gets to go sledding. While I took these photos three weeks ago, they’re pretty representative of what Family Day is to a lot of people in the oil sector – just another day.