GrainsWest Spring 2021

Spring 2021 Grains West 40 Photo:Courtesyof theMunicipalDistrictofTaber RenuWell has entered a partnership with the Municipal District of Taber to complete the pilot project. Renewable energy company Canadian Solar is the developer and installation will be handled by SkyFire Energy. Using a site’s existing infrastructure saves money that would otherwise go toward removal work and site reclamation. FEATURE “I think one of the things that we like to point to with the project, is that by using just 10 per cent of abandoned wells across Alberta we’d be able to meet the land resource requirements for 6,200 megawatts, and that’s enough renewable energy to meet the government’s 2030 goals,” said Lynes-Ford. “And that would be accomplished without removing any additional land from agriculture,” he added. REPLACING REVENUE ON THE FARM Defunct and deserted wells are a costly liability for farmers. They also represent a loss of steady lease income many have relied upon to level out the ups and downs of farm income. Farmers have to engage the province’s Surface Rights Board for assistance in recouping the missing payments from oil and gas leaseholders. The federal government acknowledged the problem in the summer of 2020 and announced $1 billion in funding for oil and gas remediation efforts in Alberta. Molnar has six paying oil wells on his property. While he said the current operators treat him well, this has not always been the case. “We’ve had several companies over the years,” he said. “Some have been great to deal with and some have been a real pain in the neck.” Local governments have felt the pinch of oil and gas company bankruptcies and the resulting interruption of payments. “The municipalities are really in trouble out here because many of them are really dependent on oil property tax income,” said Hirsche. The Municipal District of Taber is one of those struggling with the drop in property tax revenue as wells become inactive or are deserted. “As far as from the taxation side, we’re down over $2 million over the last couple years,” said Brian Peers, director of municipal lands. “When [Hirsche] came to us, it’s no secret that the energy transition is happening across the world right now, not just here in Alberta,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to help the [municipal district] as well as our tax base, as well as some of our landowners.” There are more than 600 oil and gas wells on the municipal district’s lands. In the eight years since Peers joined the body, the number of companies operating these wells has dropped from about 30 to 12, following bankruptcies and takeovers. The number of inactive, deserted wells has also risen, along with the missed payments and contaminated land they represent. “These sites are becoming a bigger and bigger problem,” he said. SUNNIER SKIES AHEAD Alberta, with its abundant sunshine and clear skies, has the potential to become the solar energy hub of Canada. If the RenuWell Project proves viable, such well site transition may contribute to this ambitious goal. The cost of solar equipment and installations has continued to decline while efficiency has rapidly increased. This makes solar installations profitable without government subsidies.