Opposition urges city to support plan for solar-panel plant on Anjou golf course

The municipal opposition accused the city Monday of standing in the way of a possible $2.3-billion project that could create 1,000 jobs in east-end Anjou.

Solargise, a U.K.-based high-tech company, announced two weeks ago it is interested in building a manufacturing plant and R&D centre to produce plastic-free solar panels on the site of the Métropolitain Anjou Golf Club.

But the opposition Ensemble Montréal party said the Valérie Plante administration’s determination to preserve the golf course as green space is jeopardizing the project.

In May, the city ’s executive committee approved a bylaw amendment allowing it to add the golf course to the 40-hectare Bois d’Anjou nature park. And on June 27, the executive committee placed a reserve on half of the golf course.

Ensemble Montréal leader Lionel Perez said at a news conference at city hall that his party voted in favour of adding the golf course to the park at the last council meeting on June 18. But it would not have done so if the city had told the opposition about Solargise’s project, which the administration knew about at the time, Perez said.

“We deplore the fact that information was hidden from councillors at the time of the vote in city council. Having learned about the project in detail, we are convinced that this is an economic opportunity that must not be missed,” he said.

In a statement, the Plante administration said it “is obviously very favourable to the development of green energies and therefore to the construction of solar panels. However, we clearly signalled to Solargise that a rigorous analysis of the project must be conducted before a decision is made.”