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This paper explores the role that hydrogen can play in helping Alberta decarbonize its electricity system. Alberta has an abundance of natural gas resources that can be converted to hydrogen fuel and further used to generate electricity either through a turbine or through a fuel cell. Since Alberta has a significant portion of its current electricity needs supplied by combustion and steam turbines, such turbines can be repurposed to use hydrogen fuels and therefore reduce the amount of stranded assets as the province moves towards lower emissions in the electricity industry. Using hydrogen in the electricity industry can also complement a higher percentage of variable renewable energy resources, like wind and solar, by absorbing excess generation via electrolysis and providing much needed reliability as a peaking product. The carbon price and associated carbon policy in Alberta appears to be a key driver incentivizing hydrogen use in the electricity industry. Our model comparing the marginal costs of natural gas versus hydrogen for electricity production concludes that with the current carbon policy in Alberta and a rising carbon price to $170 per tonne CO2e in 2030, hydrogen has the potential to compete with natural gas as a dominant, "on-demand" power source., The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol. 14 No. 1 (2021)

In response to COVID-19, governments across Canada and around the world have instituted various degrees of physical distancing restrictions. While these are essential to protecting public health and limit ultimate economic damage, they have led to a contraction of near-term economic activity., The School of Public Policy Publications, Том 13 (2020)

On May 1st, the Federal government rebate payment for electric vehicle (EV) purchases came into effect. The program offers buyers of EVs a $5,000 credit, or $2,500 for the purchase of a short range plug-in hybrid vehicle. And these can be stacked on a $5,000 credit in B.C. and an $8,000 credit in Quebec. The new EV rebate programs raises several questions. Chief among them is whether or not the government should be subsidizing electric vehicles at all?, The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol 12 (2019)

Renewable electric generation is forecast to enjoy an increasing share of total capacity and supply regimes in the future. Alberta is no exception to this trend, having initiated policy incentives in response to calls for increasing the fraction of wind and solar energy available to the province over the next decade.1 This call is coming from various sectors including advocacy groups, the provincial government and some utilities. The University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy convened a roundtable discussion on Sept. 15, 2015. Given the wide-ranging aspects of increased renewables integration (for example the policy options, economic forces and engineering/technical issues) the topic demands attention from a wide range of experts and stakeholders. To that end, we endeavoured to group expert panellists and representatives of utilities, public agencies, academe and consumer groups to consider the planning necessary to integrate new renewable capacity into the existing and future grid system in the province and its potential impact. The purpose of the roundtable was to facilitate and foster a knowledge exchange between interested and knowledgeable parties while also aggregating this knowledge into a more complete picture of the challenges and potential strategies associated with increased renewables integration in the Alberta electricity grid., The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol 9 (2016)