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By Omran Wahidy

City watching Ottawa’s net-zero plans while working on its own project

Jul 14, 2023 | 5:11 PM

The federal government wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by getting to net-zero electricity by 2035. The Alberta government is aiming for 15 years later in 2050.

The City of Medicine Hat is already trying to reduce greenhouse emissions with Project Clear Horizon, which studies opportunities in carbon capturing sequestration. The project is in place to help mitigate and decarbonize the city’s power generation facility.

“I’d say it may be plausible, and we need to see what the federal regulations are when they actually come out later this year before we can comment on whether we can meet those objectives in the timeframes,” says Grayson Mauch, director of the city’s utility distribution systems.

Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly stated that the timeline is simply not achievable for Alberta. Mauch says the electricity and gas sectors are full of skilled and innovative people that are used to and accustomed to finding unique solutions to complicated issues.

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“The local citizens should always be aware that the City of Medicine Hat continues to monitor and work very closely with our provincial and federal government agencies. So we continue to evolve our programs to ensure that we meet all regulatory requirements regardless of what they may be.”

Mauch says it’s important to remember that net-zero does not mean absolute zero. It’s a fine point but a very important one.

The federal government will propose its net-zero plan to the public later this year.