The president and CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator, Jim Ellis,&nbsp;will resign early next year.

The AER says the move has been in the works for the past several months and will take effect at the end of January.

The Friday&nbsp;announcement comes a day after the regulator apologized and&nbsp;distanced itself&nbsp;for an internal presentation by a senior official that put the estimated liability of cleaning up abandoned energy infrastructure in Alberta at $260 billion.

Liability estimates lay out the costs of reclaiming old oil wells, pipelines and tailings ponds.&nbsp;

The AER&nbsp;news release Thursday said the $260-billion estimate was a "worst-case scenario." The regulator said its current liability estimate is closer to $60 billion.

NEB energy forecast calls for more clean power and more oil output by 2040

In a new report, the national regulator says Canadians will learn to use less energy, even as the economy grows, through to 2040.

A solar panel is pictured in Prince Edward Island.

The future of Alberta's solar energy is uncertain since the UCP government put an end to the rebates program put in place by the NDP.  

Solar panels 

Renewable sources of electricity such as solar power will grow in Canada over the next two decades, says the National Energy Board. 

Jim Ellis named CEO of Alberta's new energy regulator

Alberta's new energy regulator will be headed up by a CEO who has been second-in-command of both the province's energy and environment ministries.

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Jim Ellis helped develop the province's strategy to diversify its markets and acted as Alberta's point man on talks to form a Canadian energy strategy.

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Ellis joined the AER&nbsp;in June 2013 as the first CEO of the newly&nbsp;formed regulator.

Prior to the appointment, Ellis served as Alberta's deputy minister of environment from 2008 to 2011. He&nbsp;worked on environmental frameworks in the oilsands region, climate change initiatives and improvements to the regulatory system.

He then served as deputy energy minister.

Jim Ellis was named the first president and CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator when it was formed in 2013.

Alberta Energy Regulator CEO Jim Ellis to resign in January

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