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Commitments and contingencies
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and contingencies Commitments and contingencies
(a)Contingencies
AQN and its subsidiaries are involved in various claims and litigation arising out of the ordinary course and conduct of its business. Although such matters cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not consider AQN’s exposure to such litigation to be material to these unaudited interim consolidated financial statements. Accruals for any contingencies related to these items are recorded in the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements at the time it is concluded that their occurrence is probable and the related liability is estimable.
Mountain View Fire
On November 17, 2020, a wildfire now known as the Mountain View Fire occurred in the territory of Liberty Utilities (CalPeco Electric) LLC ("Liberty CalPeco"). The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and CAL FIRE has not yet released its final report. There are currently 10 active lawsuits that name the Company and/or certain of its subsidiaries as defendants in connection with the Mountain View fire. Five of these lawsuits are brought by groups of individual plaintiffs alleging causes of action including negligence, inverse condemnation, nuisance, trespass, and violations of Cal. Pub. Util. Code 2106 and Cal. Health and Safety Code 13007. In the sixth active lawsuit, County of Mono, Antelope Valley Fire Protection District, Toiyabe Indian Health Project, and Bridgeport Indian Colony allege similar causes of action and seek damages for fire suppression costs, law enforcement costs, property and infrastructure damage, and other costs. In three other lawsuits, insurance companies allege inverse condemnation and negligence and seek recovery of amounts paid and to be paid to their insureds. The tenth lawsuit alleges the wrongful death of an individual, along with causes of action similar to those alleged in the cases filed by groups of individual plaintiffs. The likelihood of success in these lawsuits cannot be reasonably predicted. Liberty CalPeco intends to vigorously defend them. The Company has wildfire liability insurance that is expected to apply up to applicable policy limits.
(b)Commitments
In addition to the commitments related to the development projects disclosed in note 6, the following significant commitments exist as at June 30, 2022.
AQN has outstanding purchase commitments for power purchases, gas supply and service agreements, service agreements, capital project commitments and land easements. Detailed below are estimates of future commitments under these arrangements: 
Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5ThereafterTotal
Power purchase (i)$110,990 $53,417 $53,594 $32,367 $12,397 $148,887 $411,652 
Gas supply and service agreements (ii)108,351 80,109 52,985 38,258 25,596 166,289 471,588 
Service agreements66,323 58,865 57,395 55,144 46,585 323,799 608,111 
Capital projects58,522 — — — — — 58,522 
Land easements and others13,160 13,308 13,482 13,657 13,824 467,691 535,122 
Total$357,346 $205,699 $177,456 $139,426 $98,402 $1,106,666 $2,084,995 
(i)    Power purchase: AQN’s electric distribution facilities have commitments to purchase physical quantities of power for load serving requirements. The commitment amounts included in the table above are based on market prices as at June 30, 2022. However, the effects of purchased power unit cost adjustments are mitigated through a purchased power rate-adjustment mechanism.
(ii)     Gas supply and service agreements: AQN’s gas distribution facilities and thermal generation facilities have commitments to purchase physical quantities of natural gas under contracts for purposes of load serving requirements and of generating power.