
What started as a spark has turned into a raging prairie wildfire.
Following on the heels of a request to set aside an Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) ruling in favour of a solar farm near Caroline, more Alberta communities are mobilizing against renewable energy development in their communities.
Now residents are calling on the UCP government to implement a second moratorium — a so-called ‘Pause 2.0’ — against wind and solar projects backed by overseas developers looking to take advatntage of Alberta’s deregulated electricity market to build projects they don’t want.
Lacombe, 125 kilometres south of Edmonton, is the latest to mobilize against a proposed solar project by German-based developer Re-concept Canada, which hopes to build a 22-megawatt plant about a kilometre south of the town limits.
The Western Standard has obtained the copy of a letter sent to Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson outlining concerns from about a dozen local landowners opposed to using prime agricultural land for renewable energy projects.
“We are strongly opposed to their project and have communicated that directly to them. We now want to bring it to the attention of government ministers and officials, Lacombe County personnel (who are aware of this project), and key political figures who we are hoping can validate our concerns and work with us on a path to maintain and retain our precious farming resources,” it reads.
Specifically, they complain Re-Concept “does not have ties to the (Alberta) farming community” and seems more interested in “capitalizing on government initiatives”that can reach as high as 30% for federal tax incentives.
Re-Concept, meanwhile, has a history of building wind projects in Germany and Finalnd and is looking to expand to Canada and specifically, the solar, tidal and hydropower sectors.
“As a farming family, we understand the importance of sustainable practices, but we
believe the push to install solar farms on valuable farmland is misguided and ultimately harmful,” wrote Gord and Nancy Graves, local cow-calf producers.
It’s just the latest in a growing backlash against renewable projects after the lifting of the UCP’s moratorium in the spring of last year.
Earlier this week, Rimbey-Rocky Moutain House-Sundre MLA Jason Nixon formally asked the AUC to reconsider approval for a controversial solar power plant in the hamlet of Caroline, which is home to about 500 residents.
It came after concerned residents mobilized about a third of the town’s residents against a solar project that would be almost the size of the village itself.
Lacombe, by contrast is home to about 13,000 people and is located just off the QEII highway. It’s holding a public meeting of its own next week, on April 1.
But the trend against renewable power projects is clear. An unnamed Caroline resident who asked to remain anonymous, said the UCP is obligated to put residents first in any implementation of Alberta’s renewables policy include respect for local land use policies and municipal bylaws.
They also wants to see AUC panel members with more “agriculture experience” to increase rural represnetation on regulatory bodies when dealing with applications on Calss 1 & 2 lands.
“This 'Pause 2.0' could be crafted with the explanation, "that now is the time to analyze the impacts from AUC decisions, post-moratorium, in conjunction with how sufficiently the AUC adopted those mandates and how it aligns with public approval,” he said.
“Although this would be an inconvenience to the overall AUC process… the self evident advantage would be that renewable energy developers would then have project areas that have least impact on residents and landowners, there would be minimal stress to high value environs, either agriculturally or environmentally, and have the added bonus of a streamlined application process for the AUC.”