By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Innisfail to move forward with solar farm

Apr 25, 2018 | 3:07 PM

A 70-acre solar farm will be built in the town of Innisfail.

Town council approved a contract this week with Innisfail Solar Corp to construct the 15-20 megawatt farm just north of the Innisfail Golf Club.

Once built, it will generate enough power for 3000-4000 homes.

“The development is positive for the community and represents a productive use of these lands until they are needed for residential development,” says Development Coordinator Meghan Jenkins. “The project supports renewable energy generation and provides a revenue stream to the community.”

The land will be leased to the developer at $500/acre/year, which will be adjusted annually for inflation. The company will also provide annual contributions to a Community Benefit Fund at $1000/year/megawatt.

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The 26-year term begins once construction is complete, and the lessee will inform the Town by April 1 of each year if they intend to commence work during that growing season. This will allow the Town to determine management of the land in the meantime.

An additional year has been tacked on to the end of the term for decommissioning, unless a new accord is struck at that time.

There is also to be a 300 metre safety radius around the solar farm.

In comparison to other solar farms in the province, a 74 acre farm is near Brooks and contains 50,000 solar panels. Consort has a solar farm which produces 0.01 megawatts, one on a Hutterite colony near Edmonton generates two megawatts, and another two megawatt farm is in the Bassano area. A 75 megawatt solar farm is currently proposed for north of the Drumheller airport.

An even larger 77 megawatt, $150 million farm is currently in the process of being constructed in Vulcan.

Capital costs for the Innisfail solar farm will be in the range of $20-24 million, with the company spending half a million yearly on operating costs while bringing in $2 million per year in revenue.

Innisfail Solar Corp will be hosting community consulations with citizens and stakeholders later this year.