The government of Alberta has agreed to a $95 million settlement with an Australian coal company concerning changes to the province’s coal policy. This settlement, confirmed in a recent communication to shareholders by Evolve Power, follows an earlier agreement in principle reached earlier in the year. Additionally, the province settled for $143 million with Atrum Coal in a separate case.
Evolve and Atrum were part of a group of coal companies that took legal action against the Alberta government in 2023 due to modifications in the province’s coal policies. These changes included the rescinding of the longstanding 1976 coal policy by the UCP government in 2020, which had initially provided environmental protections for vast areas of the Rocky Mountains. Despite reinstating the policy temporarily in 2021, the government eventually decided to maintain the 1976 coal policy in 2022, allowing only four “advanced projects” to proceed through regulatory processes.
Subsequently, Evolve Power agreed to surrender coal leases for its Chinook and Greenfield projects as part of the settlement deal. The company also decided to divest its pumped-hydro energy storage project at Tent Mountain, which was later sold to TransAlta in early 2025.
Despite the settlements, the NDP has criticized the UCP government for its handling of coal policies, with the Alberta Wilderness Association expressing disappointment over public funds being used for large settlements with coal companies. The government, limited by legal constraints, has stated that details of the settlements are privileged, and it cannot provide further information beyond what the companies disclose publicly.