The provincial government on Wednesday outlined an “agriculture first” approach to wind and solar development that prioritizes irrigable lands, identifies certain areas as off limits to development and provides municipalities with the automatic right to participate in regulatory hearings. (The Logic)

Talking point: The new regulations come at the tail end of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s seven-month moratorium on renewable project approvals, and amid growing local opposition to wind power developments in particular. Under the rules, proponents are restricted from building on Class 1 and 2 lands—those with the most irrigable soils. A 35-kilometre buffer zone will be applied to areas with “pristine viewscapes as designated by the province,” and developers will be forced to pay estimated reclamation costs directly to the Alberta government or landowners in the form of a bond or security. In a release, the Canadian Climate Institute, an environmental research group, said the restrictions would “throttle a booming industry” in the province.