Alberta Electric System Operator

The clean energy think tank The Pembina Institute says in a report released Friday that 53 wind and solar projects were abandoned after the United Conservative Party government paused approvals for seven months then failed to clarify new rules for those developments. 

Electrical grid upgrades are crucial because households need affordable, reliable power and access to clean technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps.

A series of electricity grid alerts in Alberta during the deep freeze last week made headlines across the country, but experts say power systems all across North America are increasingly at risk of being overloaded during severe weather.

"They pulled the rug out from under us," said John Rimmer, mayor of Caroline, where the United Conservative government's move has stranded a solar project that would have contributed at least 15 per cent of the community's municipal budget.

The roar of the chainsaw could soon join the calls of the wild in Jasper National Park as Atco Ltd. looks to string power across the town within the UNESCO World Heritage preserve.