Alberta Solar One (ABS1), Enbridge's first self-solar project in Canada, is now in operation. The 10.5 MW facility will supply a portion of the Canadian Mainline power requirements with renewable power.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Enbridge has brought a new solar power facility near Burdett online in just six month in order to cut the carbon footprint of the pipeline giant.
Alberta Solar One, a 10-megawatt solar panel array that covers a half section of land in the county of Forty Mile, was operating on March 24, the company and its partner Morgan Solar announced on Tuesday. That comes after breaking ground on the 30,000-panel farm in September 2020. About 80 workers were employed on site during construction.
“This project is a win-win for Enbridge’s power team as we continue to grow our renewable energy portfolio and support Enbridge’s sustainability goals,” said Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s senior vice-president of power and strategy.
“We’re excited to see our first Canadian self-power project come online, and we will continue to invest in opportunities across North America that generate energy to power our operations.”
Last November, Enbridge became one of the largest oilpatch companies to vow to become carbon neutral in its operations by 2050 – an announcement highlighted by revelation that Alberta Solar One was well underway.
The company also owns stakes in four wind-power facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan and is constructing a solar facility in New Jersey to directly supply power needed for pumping through its pipeline network there.
Ontario-based Morgan Solar’s contribution to the Alberta solar project was initial design and permitting work, as well as its “SimbaX” system. It is a coating on panels that concentrates light entering the photovoltaic cells. It’s the first utility-scale facility to use the system.
The project was also supported by Emissions Reduction Alberta and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
The companies say with a 10.5-megawatt capacity, the field will produce enough electricity over the course of a year to power about 3,000 homes and offset about 12,000 tonnes of carbon from other generation sources.
It feeds into the Fortis distribution network from the site three kilometres north of the hamlet, 71 kilometres west of Medicine Hat.
The company plans to station a flock of 50 sheep at the site this spring to manage vegetation and weeds.
