The M&E Dispatch // 102

Gone with the wind?

Author

Lee Tengum
September 02, 2025

Hello Everyone,

As I sit out East this morning, watching the sun rise, long before it stretches its way across the Prairies, my focus drifts West, to Alberta.

Yes, Alberta has coal.
Yes, Alberta has oil.
And of course, Alberta has gas.

They also have a seemingly endless supply of wind (Coleman says hello!) and sunlight (Calgary is Canada’s sunniest city, after all).

So why, Alberta, why(?!), are you fighting so hard against this?

In the last year, 10.7 gigawatts of renewable projects have been cancelled, wind, solar, and batteries that together could have matched 109% of Alberta’s average daily demand and nearly 90% of its peak. That’s not just electrons left on the table. That’s jobs, rural tax revenues, and long-term competitiveness traded away.

Forty-four percent of proposed renewables are gone, compared to just 11% of gas. That’s a deliberate weighting of the scales, not an accident. And with it goes $91 million per year in revenue for small towns, the kind that keeps rinks open and roads patched.

Some dismiss it with a shrug: “We don’t need that much power.” But in a world where wind and solar are the cheapest new energy, it’s not about whether you need it today, it’s about whether you’ll be ready tomorrow.

Alberta has always been an energy province. The question now is whether it wants to remain one in a future where the sun and the wind can do as much heavy lifting as the ground beneath its feet.

Remember how the C-Train used to proudly declare, “This train is powered by wind” along its sides? That's the kind of clean, locally powered pride Alberta once celebrated… and still could if it chooses to.

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// The Dirt

🔥 Top 3 Headlines to Watch

  1. 🔋 Piedmont & Sayona Complete Merger, Launch Elevra Lithium — new lithium giant includes Quebec projects in its global platform.
    https://www.piedmontlithium.com/piedmont-lithium-announces-completion-of-merger-with-sayona-mining

  2. 🪙 Patriot Battery Metals Files NI 43-101 for Shaakichiuwaanaan Project (QC) — confirms it as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas.
    https://patriotbatterymetals.com/patriot-files-ni-43-101-technical-report-on-the-shaakichiuwaanaan-mineral-resource-estimate-quebec-canada

  3. ⛏ Star Copper (BC) Expands Supergene Zone — Phase 1 drilling enlarges footprint to 250m x 300m, Phase 2 set for fall.
    https://starcopper.com/star-copper-provides-summary-of-phase-1-exploration-activities-at-star-project-in-northwestern-british-columbia

🛠 Exploration & Development Highlights

💰 Financings & Market Moves

🧬 Corporate & Policy

🌄 On the Horizon

  • Lithium Remains Canada’s Headline Metal — Quebec projects (Patriot, Elevra Lithium) dominate resource and corporate news, keeping Canada at the center of the global EV supply chain.

  • Copper & Supergene Potential — Star Copper’s expanding zone in BC and Adyton’s PNG results show how Canadian juniors are leaning into multi-metal value.

  • Steady Dividend Stories — Dynacor’s ongoing payout streak adds a rare income play for investors in a sector otherwise dominated by growth stories.

So yesterday I realized that we needed a protein, chicken/beef/pork etc for dinner and headed out to grab something quickly. Turns out, unlike BC or Alberta Labour Day does not mean reduced hours, it means “We’re closed”, full stop. Walmart, Costco, Superstore - all closed.

The West could learn a thing from that, give the people a day off at the end of summer, winter is long enough.

Enjoy the week all!

- Lee