Hawk nest delays solar array hearing
By COLLIN GALLANT on August 1, 2023.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant The discovery of a hawk nest in northwest Medicine Hat is the reason behind delaying a hearing into building the largest urban solar array in Canada. The Saamis Solar project was proposed in late 2019 to cover former industrial land north of Crescent Heights, and an expanded version is currently before provincial utility regulators. It was scheduled to advance to a hearing in early July before that was suspended with no official reason. New filings show the nesting site of two ferruginous hawks was found at the site, and on June 19, the developer, the Canadian subsidiary of Ireland-based DP Energy, requested a delay. A new site map filed on July 20 shows a 200-metre setback has been included in the middle of array at the south end of a former fertilizer dry pond that is the key feature of the proposal. DP officials have said they can construct a solar power facility on the site without disturbing leftover residue from industrial production beneath the soil. Since the original proposal, DP expanded the scope of the proposal and potential peak capacity of the renewable field on adjacent fields north of Division Avenue and 23rd Street. Several residents of north-edge communities, along with owners of adjacent quarter sections and some environmental observers, opposed the application. There is no revised timetable for the Alberta Utilities Commission hearing. 11-10
