#cardston

TransAlta, one of Alberta's largest power generators, has cancelled a proposed wind farm development and is putting a hold on three other power projects, citing provincial rule changes and a lack of certainty in the market.

In February, Alberta's government announced new rules on the development of renewable power in the province. They imposed a new 35-kilometre buffer zone around areas deemed "pristine viewscapes."

Calgary-based TransAlta said those rules, coupled with a lack of clarity around the future of renewable energy in Alberta, led to the decision to permanently scrap the Riplinger wind project near Cardston, Alta. 

The company began looking into the 300-megawatt wind farm in 2020, and has done studies to assess its environmental impact. It was expected to come online in 2027.

"As we take stock of the government of Alberta's regulatory announcements, we reassessed our own growth plans in the province," said TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris during a first-quarter results call on Friday. [...]

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The annual Sun Dance ceremony at the Blood Indian Reserve, near Cardston, Alberta. August 1953

An Alberta A&W came under heavy criticism on social media this week after a customer said he was told it was the restaurant's policy not to let him buy a meal for an elderly, disabled Indigenous woman.

Nick Driedger said he was waiting in line to purchase breakfast at the Cardston A&W on Friday morning when he saw an older Indigenous couple trying to buy a meal for the elderly woman with a walker.

He said the cashier wouldn't let the couple buy the woman a meal, and then she left the store.

Driedger went outside to speak to the woman who said she was hungry. So he went back inside and ordered an extra meal for her.

"At that point, the [cashier] picked up the phone and I thought I heard her say something to the effect of, 'hello, police,'" Driedger said.

"At which point I kind of interrupted her while she was on the phone and said, 'I'd rather you not call police. I just don't think that's necessary. I'm just buying someone a meal.'"