Earlier this month, the United Kingdom mandated that all new homes built after 2028 must be equipped with heat pumps and solar panels. Not surprisingly, the US-Israel war on Iran drove the new policy. The UK is desperate to lessen the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, an energy resource frequently prone to disruption by geopolitical upheaval and subject to wild price swings. 

“The Iran war has once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security, so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don’t control,” British energy secretary Ed Miliband said at the announcement. Makes sense. With almost no oil now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, Britain clearly sees clean energy as its best path forward to energy self-sufficiency.

And then there is Alberta. The fossil fuel capital of Canada is so loyal to oil and so myopic about the future, it is doing everything it can to deter solar installation, even for residents willing to foot the entire cost themselves. As my colleague Chris Pollon reports, last month, the Alberta government announced a $14 “eco-fee” on every solar panel in the........

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