By Shawn Jeffords, www.theobserver.ca The Observer
Sarnia-Lambton could soon be home to two more solar energy farms.
First Solar, which is already building an 80-megawatt project in southeast Sarnia, confirmed Monday it’s planning two more solar farms in St. Clair Township.
With provincial approval, work on each of the 20-megawatt projects could begin in spring of 2011, said First Solar spokesperson Peter Carrie.
And why is Sarnia-Lambton rapidly becoming the solar capital of Canada?
“It’s one of sunniest parts of Ontario,” Carrie said. “It doesn’t get as much lake-effect snow as other locations do (so) winter maintenance is simplified,” he said.
Sarnia-Lambton also has flat land, good power infrastructure and co-operative electrical utilities, Carrie added.
“On the construction side it’s positive as well. We have access to a great professional work force,” he said.
One of the proposed sites is adjacent Highway 40 at Rokeby Line, north of the Suncor ethanol plant, on land already zoned for industrial use. The second, currently farmland, lies east of Baseline Road, between Bentpath Line and the McKeough Floodway.
Carrie said the projects would generate enough peak electricity to power 6,400 homes, and employ up to 600 workers at the height of construction.
A public consultation process will begin Jan. 14 with an open house at the Royal Canadian Legion in Corunna, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Carrie said.
Both sites are in keeping with Ontario’s recent Green Energy Act, he added.
“Solar farms are consistent with the zoning on both locations.”
But St. Clair Township CAO John Rodey said the solar farm proposed for Bentpath Line is not currently classified for solar use.
The Ministry of Agriculture rates land according to soil quality to protect farmland. The rich, productive soils of Class One and Class Two agricultural lands can’t be used for solar or wind projects. Class Three can be used in limited fashion, with Class Four and lower preferred under the Act.
Rodey said the Bentpath site is Class Two farmland, but added that First Solar may have already worked out an exemption with the province.
Because St. Clair has more Class Three and lower soil than other parts of the county it’s a magnet for alternative energy projects, Rodey said.
“The difficulty our council has is that they don’t really have input into the system now,” he said.
“Because of the Green Energy Act, the province has taken responsibilities our council would have for zoning these types of facilities. It’s no longer in our hands.
“Even if there is an outcry, there isn’t much our municipal council can do.”
Observer Article ID# 2221211
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