In short, it makes meeting those 2030 targets quite a bit harder. Up until two and a half years ago, Alberta was the destination of choice for renewable energy investment in Canada. For years, it led the country on new additions of wind and solar, generating billions of dollars in investment and adding new low-cost generation options to the province's electricity grid.
In August of 2023, the Government of Alberta announced a sudden and surprise moratorium on approvals for all renewable projects. As you noted, the immediate effect of that was quite sharp, with 53 projects pulling out essentially overnight.
In February of 2024, the moratorium was formally lifted; however, there have since been a number of new policies and contemplated changes directly affecting the renewable energy sector that have undermined confidence in this once very booming industry.
In August, 2025, two years after the moratorium was announced, a Pembina Institute analysis found that, although the Alberta Electric System Operator project development queue is “now back at pre-moratorium levels, there is a concerning increase in cancellations—suggesting that while investors may be joining the project queue, many are then leaving before their project is approved, or deciding not to put shovels in the ground even after they have the approvals in hand.”
Indeed, we found that almost 11 gigawatts of wind, solar and energy projects have been cancelled since the start of the moratorium. For reference, that's more than Alberta's average total power demand. What's happening to Alberta's renewables market is decidedly quite contrary to global investment trends in renewables, suggesting that these policy choices by the Government of Alberta are having a real direct effect on investor confidence.