Brooks Solar expansion to start in April
By COLLIN GALLANT on March 5, 2021.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant The company behind a two-fold expansion of the Brooks Solar facility has told regulators major construction will kick off in April. Elemental Energy gained approval to build subsequent phases of the 15 megawatt solar array last year. It was the first utility scale plant commissioned in Alberta when it went into service in 2017, and additional arrays on a portion of two adjoining quarter-sections would add 23.5 megawatts of peak production capacity at a cost of about $30 million. Construction had been tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2020, but a new in-service date states it would be complete in March 2022, according to an AUC decision this month. Irrigation plan OK’d A second of three reservoir expansions in a three-way deal to expand irrigation in southeastern Alberta has been revealed. Deadhorse Coulee, located near Vauxhall, is the focus of expansion plans by the Bow River Irrigation District in a plan that will be discussed at next week’s annual general meeting of the district. Last October the province, irrigation districts and the federal government’s Infrastructure Bank made an $800-million agreement to build out storage and refurbish existing canals by 2028. The $45-million expansion would add enough water storage to add 25,000 acres to the district. The funding agreement requires 20 per cent of the cost up front from the district, then a further 50 per cent borrows from Ottawa at one per cent for a 35-year term. The provincial grant covers the remainder. A similar funding program is available for an expansion of Snake Lake, between Brooks and Bassano, in the Eastern Irrigation District. Its members approved in a plebiscite last week an expansion of 34,000 acres. The EID annual meeting is on March 9. 13-12
