The location of the proposed Peace Butte Solar project, from Aura Renewables, is shown about 20 kilometres south of Medicine Hat. The 680-acre project is now before regulators.--Image courtesy Alberta Utilities Commission
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A 230-megawatt solar power field coupled with battery storage capacity has been proposed for land 20 kilometres south of Medicine Hat.
Aura Peace Butte Solar is being proposed by the Canadian subsidiary of British renewable energy firm Aura, which submitted the project to Alberta regulators last Tuesday.
There is not yet a schedule for public feedback on the proposal.
Despite the similar name, the proposal is not connected to the Peace Butte Wind Farm proposal that is owned by renewable developer Pteragen.
The solar field would comprise one-half million panels placed on arrays over six quarter-sections of privately owned, cultivated land.
They would be joined via a collector network on site to a new substation and power then put onto the Alberta electricity grid. Battery storage units with a capacity of 100 megawatt hours would also be placed on the land.
The company held consultation meetings in Seven Persons, about 13 kilometres northwest of the project site, in January.
A tentative schedule included in the application notes that, if approved, construction could begin in the fall of 2024 and completed in the fall of 2025.
A website for the project states up to 500 workers would be needed during construction.
