On Aug. 3, 2023, the Alberta government announced a surprise seven-month moratorium on all new renewable energy projects, much to the surprise of the industry.

The government initially said its announcement was a response to requests from independent agencies that oversee the electricity system in Alberta, but successive revelations have proved that is untrue.

“The Alberta Electric System Operator asked for us to do a pause, to make sure that we could address issues of stability of the grid,” Smith said in August 2023 when pressed by reporters asking why the government made the decision. Smith added that the grid’s regulator, the Alberta Utilities Commission, also asked for the pause.

But behind the scenes, the government had spent months considering the moratorium and a related inquiry into renewable energy regulations in the province.

Hundreds of pages of documents, obtained by The Narwhal through freedom of information requests, show the government expressed its desire to halt projects only one month into its mandate. They show the government was behind the push, and not independent agencies as Premier Danielle Smith repeatedly claimed.

Internal emails obtained by The Narwhal also revealed that the top official at the Alberta Electric System Operator found the pause “very troubling” and was “not comfortable” with the decision. He was told to “support the minister without reservation.”

Here, then, is a timeline of what we know happened and when.