Enbridge breaks ground on solar play in Forty Mile County

Pipeline giant Enbridge has broken ground on its first solar power plant in Canada, the company announced Thursday.

The $20-million, 10.5-megawatt “Alberta Solar One” project is located in the County of 40 Mile. It will produce power for the Alberta grid, thereby offsetting some electricity required to run Enbridge’s major pipeline network.

Work got underway last month, and will require up to 80 construction workers over the next six months.

“Alberta Solar One is part of a broader program that Enbridge is initiating to selfsupply a growing portion of our energy load from renewable resources,” stated Veena Narula, the company’s vicepresident of power business development.

“Enbridge ... is undertaking projects across our system to green our operations and reduce our carbon intensity.”

The project is located on a half a quarter-section of land three kilometres northwest of the Hamlet of Burdett, off Range Road 123.

The project was co-developed by Enbridge and Morgan Solar, though Enbridge took over full control this summer.

Enbridge is also building a smaller solar array in New Jersey to directly power one of its facilities.

The company also holds ownership stakes in four wind power facilities in southwest Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan.

Energy from the plant near Burdett will go onto the Alberta electricity grid as an offset power produced by coal- or natural gas-fired plants.

Construction is expected to be complete in April 2021.