Markham on Energy

Time to reconsider Smith’s dangerously inept Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan? China has dealt a serious political blow to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. On Thursday, the country’s largest refiner, state-owned Sinopec, released its latest [Read more]

Expanding power grid to electrify Alberta economy could be Smith’s greatest achievement Ottawa released its zero-emissions vehicle sales mandate Tuesday morning. An hour later, right on cue, Danielle Smith lit her hair on fire. Too [Read more]

Smith says new methane emissions regulations are “illegal,” but Alberta already has an agreement with Ottawa under existing federal legislation If Danielle Smith felt shame, she would be embarrassed by this morning’s press release claiming [Read more]

What is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith smoking? The International Energy Agency (IEA) “has become increasingly, unfortunately, a political activist organization.” This was part of Danielle Smith’s response to a question from me during her September [Read more]

“We have no confidence in the AER or the Government of Alberta to investigate this incident or prevent another one from happening.” – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Regulatory failure, not poor communications, is the real [Read more]

China dominates clean energy industry, US and Europe race to catch up Government subsidies totalling $28.2 billion for two Ontario battery plants require 20-year pay back, according to Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux. Clean [Read more]

Premier Danielle Smith thinks global energy transition should slow down to accommodate Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s Monday press conference demonstrated once and for all that the 7-month moratorium on renewables has nothing to do with [Read more]

Alberta leadership must be held accountable for clinging to slow transition thinking The global energy system is transitioning from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) to zero or low-carbon electricity and fuels like hydrogen. Will the [Read more]

Part 1 of the Energy Transition and Post-Combustion Alberta series of columns Can you imagine a world in which Alberta’s bountiful oil reserves are used for manufacturing space-age materials instead of refining climate-destroying fuels? If [Read more]

Producers spent past decade developing emissions-reducing technology but aren’t using it at scale. Why aren’t we talking about that story? “I heard many times, people like Joy Romero, one of the key [COSIA] vice-presidents saying [Read more]

“…the public purse should not be at risk because of orphan wells.” JR Nichol, senior ERCB executive Three decades ago, the oil industry cut a deal with the Alberta government that it would pay to [Read more]

Fighting climate change by massively expanding Alberta, BC hydrocarbon extraction is a terrible idea Are the Liberals about to capitulate to Danielle Smith on carbon credits for “clean LNG” exports? Recent comments by Natural Resources [Read more]

Rachel Notley is not the person to craft or deliver a new energy vision for Alberta. She has proven that repeatedly over past 4 years How do you hope to be premier of Canada’s energy [Read more]

Notley’s view of energy transition isn’t much more advanced than Smith’s. But she can be persuaded by evidence. Bottom line, that’s the leader Alberta needs over the next 4 years If you follow my energy [Read more]

The UCP is the anti-Lougheed. It is the servant of the oil and gas industry. It will give industry everything it wants and more while neglecting Albertans’ interests As the global energy transition accelerates faster [Read more]

“As it relates to the energy file, she has been very solid.” – Dave Collyer, former Shell Canada executive, CAPP CEO, in 2018 If the oil and gas industry has a future beyond the next [Read more]

Energy may not be ballot box issue, but there is none more important for Alberta Danielle Smith has dropped the writ. The race to May 29 is on. I thought the 2019 Alberta election was [Read more]

Danielle Smith’s climate plan is a report, not a strategy or a plan, and it’s mostly concerned with growing oil and gas production In January, I wrote a column titled, “Danielle Smith has an oil [Read more]

What if Alberta is stuck paying $300 billion of oil and gas environmental liabilities? Shouldn’t that be an election issue? The Alberta Energy Regulator is broken. The province’s chief protector of the public interest is [Read more]