Premier-designate Jason Kenney’s party unseated the incumbent Democratic Party in the oil-rich province where wind has achieved record low prices for Canada.
In the UCP’s manifesto, Kenney pledged to end "costly" subsidies for clean energy following completion of a third tender round in December 2018 and "welcome market-driven green power".
The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) stated it "looks forward to working with the new government to ensure market-driven approaches are in place" to aid wind power development.
Under the outgoing premier Rachel Notley, the left-wing Democrats implemented a clean energy plan through which the province sought to add 5GW of renewable electricity by 2030. Notley is the first Albertan leader not to win a second term in office.
More than 1.3GW of new wind capacity secured power contracts under the former government’s Renewable Electricity Program.
In Alberta’s first auction in December 2017, bids for wind farms were as low as C$30.90/MWh (US$24.21/MWh) — a record in Canada — prompting the government to award nearly one-and-a-half times the capacity it initially sought.
"Alberta has all the makings of a true energy powerhouse, and not just where oil and gas are concerned," said Evan Wilson, regional director for the prairies at CanWEA.
The province currently has 1,482MW of online wind capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.
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