The location of the proposed Saamis Solar power project as submitted by project developer DP Energy.--Supplied Image
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
The plan to build the largest urban solar array in Canada has a new regulatory schedule, but likely won’t reach the hearing stage until after a seven-month pause on new renewable power project expires next winter.
A new schedule for the Saamis Solar project in northern Medicine Hat was released Friday by the Alberta Utilities Commission showing the developer and those opposed will continue to prepare for a hearing until early February.
That will include new requirements upon developer, DP Energy, to describe land disturbance, municipal land-use, “viewscapes” and remediation plans, and typical exchanges of information between parties is set to conclude Feb. 2.
A government mandated halt to new approvals for large green energy projects is set to conclude Feb. 29, 2024.
That provides some of what both sides requested when the unheralded pause was announced by the government Aug. 3.
DP argued that some work should proceed on the application in the interest of saving time, while intervenors, including nearby rural and urban landowners as well as environmentalists said incoming requirements could make work in the meantime moot.
The Saamis Solar field would be built on the former tailing pond of the Westco fertilizer plant north of Crescent Heights and portions of grassland. There, Irish-based project developer DP Energy, would place solar panels over 1,500 acres at a cost of $400 million, capable of producing 325 megawatts of power in peak conditions. That’s slightly more than the entire capacity of the City of Medicine Hat’s gas-fired power complex, but would be fed onto the provincial grid, according to the DP application.
Several local landowners and environmentalists had registered to oppose portions of the application at a hearing set for late July. That was postponed as the company redrew plans to avoid a raptor’s nest, but before it could be rescheduled, the province announced the pause on approvals.
A process for exchanging information between the two sides was detailed in an AUC update Oct. 13. It provides dates for submitting and responding to information requests.
The City of Medicine Hat is not listed as a registered intervenor or observer in the matter.
