Farming the sun

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

With the downturn in oil and gas development, it is encouraging to note a new solar farm is being considered one kilometre west of Cluny.
The German-based company GP Joule has approached a Cluny landowner to develop his 38-acre parcel with 28 acres of sun collectors, which will upload about five megawatts of energy to Fortis’s electric grid. Approximately 164 homes, under average conditions, can be powered by one megawatt of power.
GP Joule is an international company with many installations worldwide, including Canadian solar farm sites in Ontario.
According to David Heiduck, project manager for GP Joule northeast region, the company is looking to Western Canada for expansion. Alberta has some of the greatest number of sunshine hours in Canada.
“Our goal is to support renewable energy and sustainability,” said Heiduck.
With the federal government’s agreement to reduce the carbon footprint, and provincial government programs and grants to encourage alternative energy generation, the introduction of solar farms will be a good boost to the provincial energy sector.
There has been support from oil and gas workers to retrain for alternative energy industries. Several colleges have developed renewable energy training courses, and Lakeland College has set up demonstration fields that can be toured.
The opportunity will also give alternatives for farm income. Some farmers have continued to run sheep, wineries and market gardens in conjunction with their solar installations. Unfortunately, beef operations aren’t currently considered, but talks are ongoing about feeder calf grazing between panels.
Wheatland County council has expressed concern about the impacts the installations may have on agriculture and food production.
“The industry is developing, so we know it is important to engage with local people,” said Heiduck.
He added there are a lot of benefits to the community from these facilities, such as an increase in jobs and increased tax revenues. He said the company likes to employ local people in the installation processes, and they often make agreements with the landowner for maintenance.
Heiduck said once the contract for the solar farm site is secured with the landowner, the company has to go through the provincial and municipal processes.
Alberta Environment has drafted guidelines for facilities under 10 megawatts in generation.
Wheatland County has approved windmill facilities in the county, but this would be the first solar collection proposal for the area. The county currently has a planning bylaw that limits facilities to 20 acres, but it is currently reviewing land use bylaws. The current county limitation would be restrictive to solar developments.
However, once changes are made, red tape is cut and approval is granted, the system takes about six months to install.
Leasing contracts are usually long term, about 20 years. Payments vary by company, but industry averages are between $500 to $750 per acre, per year.
The solar panels are on a tracking system that allows them to follow the sun east to west. Reflective glare issues have been addressed and panels can be tipped to drain rain and snow accumulations. GP Joule has found land quality improves under the systems due to shading and moisture accumulations.
Once the lease is concluded, the company has a full restoration policy in place, concrete is removed and the land is reseeded to its original state. Installations cannot be installed on native landscapes.
The installation process involves survey and staking of the site, vegetation clearing, drainage and erosion control, road and staging area construction, fencing, foundations, racking installation, and transformer, wiring and inverter installs and testing.
“The beauty of solar is that it doesn’t take a lot to run and it is a stand-alone production,” said Heiduck, adding that the company is currently doing a connection study with Fortis to confirm the system has enough capacity for uploads.
Information on GP Joule’s presentation can be seen on the Wheatland County website under the June 21 agenda – renewable energy presentation attachments.