Can Carbon Capture Keep Up With Alberta's Power Surge?

Fluor Canada confirms amine-based post-combustion capture as the leading path to low-carbon gas power in Alberta

27 May 2026

Alberta's electricity grid is expanding faster than clean supply can follow. New engineering analysis from Fluor Canada, published in May 2026, identifies amine-based post-combustion carbon capture as the most commercially ready method for cutting emissions from natural gas generation in the province.

The demand figures are stark. Daily consumption reached 10,100 MW in 2025 and is forecast to rise to between 11,330 and 12,065 MW by 2035. Natural gas remains the grid's backbone, yet Canada's clean electricity regulations require low-emission generation after 2030. Amine scrubbing, which chemically absorbs CO2 from plant exhaust and routes it for underground storage, already holds the highest available technology readiness rating.

Applying it to gas turbines, however, introduces distinct engineering constraints. Turbine exhaust carries lower CO2 concentrations than coal or industrial flue gas, pushing up the energy cost of capture per tonne and demanding precise heat management. Across new-build and retrofit scenarios, Fluor's modelling points to efficient heat sourcing for solvent regeneration as the variable that separates viable projects from uneconomical ones.

Progress in the oilsands is set to deepen the provincial knowledge base. The Oil Sands Alliance's $20 billion carbon capture network, cleared for construction in May 2026, will deploy post-combustion capture across 13 sites, generating cost data and supply chain depth that power developers can draw on directly.

For grid planners, gas generation with carbon capture offers something wind and solar cannot: firm, low-carbon baseload capacity. Tightening regulations and rising demand are narrowing the window for feasibility studies. Alberta's gas sector is now moving toward final project decisions, with amine capture increasingly central to how those decisions are framed.