By Nia Williams
Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Canadian crude-producing province of Alberta said on Tuesday it plans to support the creation of 5,000 megawatts of additional renewable energy capacity to help achieve the goals laid out in its climate plan last year.
Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks, said the additional capacity will help Alberta hit its target of 30 percent of electricity used in the province coming from renewable sources such as wind, hydro and solar by 2030.
Phillips estimated at least C$10.5 billion ($7.97 billion) will flow into the provincial economy as a result of the Renewable Electricity Program, creating at least 7,200 new jobs for Albertans as projects are built.
Alberta, home to Canada's vast oil sands and No. 1 exporter of crude to the United States, has been seeking ways to diversify its economy to ease the pain of the two-year slump in global oil prices.
It is also Canada's biggest greenhouse gas polluter, mainly as a result of energy-intensive oil sands production, but also because of its reliance on coal-fired power stations.
Last November the left-leaning New Democratic Party government pledged to phase out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030 and replace it with a mixture of gas and renewable power. the end of the day, our approach will encourage a more diversified electricity system while creating new, green jobs for Albertans," Alberta Minister of Energy Margaret McCuaig-Boyd said in a statement.
Investors have been awaiting further details on how Alberta will implement its climate targets and support renewable energy sources since the targets were first unveiled last year.
The province will release more details of its renewables program in November, but projects must be based in Alberta, be new or expanded and be at least five megawatts in size to be eligible for support. ($1 = 1.3181 Canadian dollars)