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If Alberta – and the rest of the world – is to address climate change successfully, it will have to do it in an affordable manner. These results make it easier to believe this is possible.

It is a win for taxpayers because the low price means the burden on government finances will be minimized. The government will only have to pay the projects the difference between their bid and the price they get for the energy they sell. With the winning prices, this difference – and thus what the government will pay – is likely to be small. In fact, the way the winning contracts are to be structured, taxpayers could see money flowing back to the treasury if electricity prices go above 3.7 cents.

Finally, it is a win for competition because the auction pitted dozens of companies against each other to develop the cheapest clean energy possible – and it worked. There is no substitute for vigorous competition to bring prices down.

The auction results show that renewable energy is the real deal in Alberta and that the doom and gloom often cast over decarbonizing the grid might be misplaced.

But while everyone should be excited about these results, it does not mean Alberta’s electricity emissions problems have been magically solved. Alberta will not be able to keep building cheap wind power to supply all its electricity needs. As more wind energy is deployed, the less valuable it will become as the province produces more wind power at certain times than it can physically consume.