My wife and I just completed a trip through the Canadian Rockies, from Vancouver to Calgary, provided by Rocky Mountaineer. The scenery is spectacular and I would highly recommend it to people who prefer mountain and forest settings. Spectacular images occurred throughout the journey.
One item in particular caught my attention during a helicopter excursion, the Horseshoe hydro dam, which was in full operation on the very active Bow River, as we traveled overhead (see the picture attached to this article for our view of the facility). But this triggered even more questions, for example, why didn’t I see a single solar panel or wind turbine during the entire trip from Vancouver to Calgary. Kamloops in particular is located in a desert area, with lots of sunshine and I don’t think the wind ever stopped blowing as we traveled though the Rocky Mountains. These would seem to be prime locations for both Solar and Wind renewable installations. So, I’m a little perplexed by the lack of renewable resources in these locations. In Western Massachusetts, where I live, you can spot a solar panel in every other neighborhood and solar farms are frequently spotted along the Mass Pike, along with wind turbines, in the Berkshires. Would anyone on EC be willing to share their insights as to why there seems to be such a lack of renewable generation (solar and wind) in southern British Columbia and Alberta?
Thanks in advance.