Edmonton city council votes 7-6 to allow large solar farm project to go ahead

Jon — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 23:23:26 +0000

EPCOR’s plans to develop a 21-hectare solar farm in southwest Edmonton has inched closer to becoming a reality after a close vote at a city council meeting on Monday night.

Following public hearings, councillors voted 7-6 in favour of a rezoning application that would allow the project near the E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant to move forward.

Councillors Tim Cartmell, Jon Dziadyk, Andrew Knack, Scott McKeen, Mike Nickel and Aaron Paquette voted against the proposal.

The $25.9-million project will see solar energy become the primary source of powering the water plant. Last year, public hearings were also held on the proposal and at that time city council asked EPCOR to embark on further community consultations on the matter.

“If the solar farm produces more energy than the water treatment plant can use, any excess will either be stored in our proposed battery energy storage system or exported back to the electrical grid,” the utility provider says.

According to EPCOR, the 45,000 solar panel project will not interrupt access to recreational trails and green space near the project site.

The company says the project will, among other things, allow it to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and offer research opportunities in the field of renewable energy.

The project had already received regulatory and environmental approvals.

Paquette tweeted that he voted against the rezoning application “due to the various concerns raised about ecological impact, archaeological questions and the current availability of renewable energy on the market.”

“But the debate is now closed,” he tweeted.

McKeen raised concerns about the scale of the project and spoke of the river valley as being the city’s most important asset.

“What is the best use of that land?,” he asked. “And that I would say is to allow it to return to a more natural state.”

Coun. Sarah Hamilton said there were some excellent points and genuine concerns were brought up at the hearings but said the question before council was whether to allow for a solar farm to be built by an industrial site that has been deemed essential.

“We have been presented with a reasonable case for a land-use change,” she said.

“If everybody finds a reason not to build these types of projects you end up building absolutely nothing anywhere or near anyone.”

The post Edmonton city council votes 7-6 to allow large solar farm project to go ahead first appeared on SOLARONLINE.

University of Regina survey shows strong public support for city’s renewable energy goals

Jon — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 10:27:53 +0000

Results of a University of Regina survey suggests there is broad support from residents to achieve the city’s goal of being 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy by 2050.

The Regina Energy Futures Survey is part of a larger report completed by the university. Brett Dolter, an assistant professor of economics, recently released the findings before presenting them to the City of Regina Planning and Priorities Committee on Wednesday.

“We live in a world where there’s a lot of polarization. It seems there’s always a different opinion on an energy future. So my interest is to see, can we actually get people to agree?” Dolter said.

The survey was administered by Prairie Research Associate randomly to 451 Regina residents through landline and cellphone calls in August and September of 2019. The margin of error is +/- 5 per cent.

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Additionally, 64 per cent supported the broader goal of ensuring the entire city – including private buildings and vehicles – are powered with alternative means within 30 years. Less than 15 per cent opposed that goal.

“It didn’t matter what the political affiliation was or demographics, there was majority support in every demographic that we saw,” Dolter said.

The survey found 68.4 per cent of respondents accept that climate change is caused mainly by human activity, and those who recognize the urgency of the issue has the strongest support for the city achieving its target.

To help with that transition, 39 per cent said they were willing to pay more on their property taxes, and another 25 per cent said they would consider paying an additional charge – depending on the amount.

“In general, on average across the whole sample, people willing to pay up to $32 a month,” he said.

Dolter added that solar energy was a hot topic for those surveyed, with about half of those surveyed living in homes where panels could be installed. Of those, 75 per cent said they would be willing to install if they broke even or made a financial return.

The post University of Regina survey shows strong public support for city’s renewable energy goals first appeared on SOLARONLINE.

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Edmonton city council votes 7-6 to allow large solar farm project to go ahead

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University of Regina survey shows strong public support for city’s renewable energy goals