Alberta Utilities Commission blocks Westlock solar project

Solar panels pictured at the Michichi Solar project near Drumheller, Alta., Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press)

A proposed solar plant north of Westlock was originally slated to be operational by December, but after months of review, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) has decided the project won’t be built.

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Acestes Power ULC applied to build the 24-megawatt solar plant in 2023, which it claimed would generate enough electricity annually to power about 7,000 homes.

On Oct. 11, the AUC ruled that the company had failed to demonstrate the benefits of the project outweighed its negative impacts and “that approval of the applications is not in the public interest.”

The AUC ruling, signed by Chair Carolyn Dahl Rees, says the commission assessed the social, environmental, and economic value of the project. The decision to deny Acestes’ application centred around the land the solar plant would have been constructed on.

“In particular, the Commission is concerned that the negative agricultural impacts have been well established in the evidence and the downgrade in productive value of the lands will have negative social and economic consequences. The benefits associated with the project seem minimal or unsubstantiated in this record and do not outweigh these concerns,” the decision states.

A Feb. 28 letter to the AUC from Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf, delivered a day before the province's seven-month renewable energy project moratorium expired, outlines the government’s intention to ban renewable project development on prime land.

While the government hasn’t yet put its “agriculture first” approach into legislation, the commission said the letter signals upcoming policies and was considered in their project evaluation.

Acestes argued that the commission should judge its application using a “framework of regulatory certainty” and that in trying to anticipate what regulations would be revealed in the months ahead, the AUC was applying “a new set of rules” to their existing application.

Class 1 and class 2 land is considered highly productive agriculture land. Alberta’s government has indicated some development of class 2 land will still be allowed, but the proponent of the project would need to prove that agrivoltaics, crops, and livestock could peacefully co-exist.

Representatives from Westlock County told the AUC hearing they weren’t necessarily opposed to the Acestes plant, but expressed concern that its approval would lead to similar projects propagating on class 2 farmlands in the county.

The main benefits of the solar plant presented by Acestes were the ongoing municipal tax revenue and estimated 100 jobs that would be created during construction. However, the commission said it was unconvinced these would produce a net benefit for the affected communities.

“Acestes itself stated that, while there would be a loss of agricultural output from the lands, the value of the electricity produced and the value of the project to the landowner would be greater. This perspective is problematic in that it conflates the private benefits that will accrue to Acestes and the hosting landowner with the public interest,” the decision states.

“The commission is not convinced in this case that Acestes has demonstrated that the public benefits outweigh the negative impacts.”