Solar panels at the Michichi Solar project near Drumheller are shown in this July 11, 2023 file photo.--CP FILE PHOTO
@MedicineHatNews
Another major solar project in southeast Alberta is facing delays, according to new applications to the Alberta Utilities Commission.
The Brooks Solar Farm, comprising 16 quarter-sections of land on either side of Highway 36 west of that city, was to be completed today, Oct. 31, 2024, according to an approval last year for the near 300-megawatt array.
This week, German utility giant RWE filed an application for extension to the end of 2026 through its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary Beargrass Solar.
“In the time since (approval, the project) has encountered numerous unanticipated and unforeseen circumstances that have caused delay, including supply chain challenges and regulatory uncertainties,” reads the request in part. “As such, Beargrass requires an extension to the completion date.”
The Province of Alberta ordered the AUC and Alberta Utilities System Operator pause all new approvals on renewable energy projects in mid-2023, then reopened final approvals under new metrics for reclamation, agricultural capacity and “viewscapes,” while further rules were finalized. As well, the government is currently studying changes to Alberta’s “energy only” market, where generators sell directly to the grid, in an effort to contain price spikes in times of high demand and lower supply.
Alberta-based SolarKrafte originally developed and sold the renewable facility plan, and was to continue as the main developer for the project.
The application, filed Oct. 28, cites supply chain issues and changes ordered for the Alberta power market this year as reasons behind the delay.
It states that final regulations from the Alberta government and Alberta Electric System Operator on a “Restructured Energy Market and transmission regulations are not expected until the end of 2025.
“Beargrass has been unable to justify financing the project without assurance of regulatory clarity,” it concludes.
The AUC will now consider the application.
Last week, an extension was granted on the completion of Dunmore Solar, which cited similar regulatory and supply chain challenges.
In September, Greencells Indygen was granted an additional year to complete the 200-megawatt, Estuary Solar Project in northeast Cypress County, moving the completion date to early 2026.
That application cited “cascading impacts and uncertainty related to the AESO interconnection process.”
