Solar farm plan for river valley under fire
Opposition is growing to a 23-hectare solar farm proposed for the Edmonton river valley, next to the west-end water treatment facility.
Epcor officials want to use land the company already owns to build a solar farm beside the E.L. Smith facility. But environmental organizations and many residents say it makes more sense to put it on less valuable land or even rooftops throughout the city.
“Go elsewhere. We realize it’s highly convenient, but there are alternatives,” Patsy Cotterill, a member of the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition, said Tuesday.
“The river valley is such prime parkland and parkland is at a premium, especially as the city grows,” Cotterill said.
Craig Bonneville, director of Epcor’s Edmonton water treatment plants, said the solar farm should go in the river valley because it’s most efficient to produce electricity beside the facility that will use it.
The 12-megawatt solar farm will run the water treatment facility and produce 30 per cent extra to feed into the grid.
But Bonneville didn’t have comparison numbers on what efficiency would be lost by locating it elsewhere.
He said a previous council policy calling for 10 per cent renewable energy from “local” sources means it should be on site.
Besides, the existing land has little ecological value, he said: “It’s literally weeds and grasses.”
Up to 45,000 solar panels would reduce the need to burn coal, saving as much greenhouse gas as pulling 2,500 cars off the road, he said.
Cotterill said Edmonton needs to stop allowing development in the river valley, especially since a growing population will only increase conflict with wildlife.
The space near the river is most critical.
“Wildlife tend to use the lowlands, not the uplands, for movement,” she said.
The Sierra Club worked with Epcor to modify the solar farm plan and it now stays at least 100 metres from the river to allow wildlife to pass.
But it doesn’t make sense to insist on building beside the treatment plant, said Charlie Richmond, who represents the Sierra Club locally.
“There’s already a pipeline for electrons; it’s called the (electrical) grid,” he said, suggesting energy lost through transmission is minimal.
He’s worried this is one more commercial project in the river valley, chipping away at a valuable resource and starting to set precedent for further development.
An open house to share details of the plan and gather citizen feedback is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Elementary School gym, 18111 57 Ave.
The project goes to city council’s utility committee for debate Feb. 23 and would need rezoning at a future public hearing.
It also needs approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission.
If it clears those hurdles, construction could start this year with the solar farm coming online in 2019.
The project is being funded by a $1.9-million annual levy on Edmonton utility ratepayers.
As news broke Tuesday, many on social media wondered why the solar farm couldn’t be built elsewhere.
Most were against it in principle, saying land in the river valley land should be natural parkland. Some suggested building it in a nearby transportation and utility corridor, or at least working with local environmental groups to intersperse native plant species with the solar panels and improve habitat.
Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Hamilton, who represents the area, said residents of nearby Cameron Heights voiced concerns about glare, the view and public access.
However, trail access along the river will be preserved, and Epcor is studying glare, she said.
The project also comes with major benefits, she said. At least figuratively, “it takes the water treatment plant off the grid.”