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Vulcan County’s Municipal Planning Fee (MPC) has authorized a improvement allow for a photo voltaic power mission northwest of Mossleigh.
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Georgetown Photo voltaic Inc’s 230-megawatt mission, in addition to a battery storage part, was authorized through the January 11 MPC assembly.
The deliberate format of the location consists of roughly 433,000 bifacial photo voltaic panel modules on fastened tilt racking, a battery power storage web site consisting of 84 power storage containers for lithium-ion phosphate batteries, 21 energy conversion stations every with two inverters and a transformer, and two auxiliaries. transformers, reads a report. The mission is positioned in seven quarter sections.
The solar energy plant software additionally consists of the development and operation of a brand new Mossleigh substation, which shall be positioned within the northwest nook of the mission boundary.
“The substation and associated parts will not be one thing our improvement authority has thought-about and due to this fact this software is not legitimate,” Alena Matlock, Vulcan County’s improvement officer, wrote within the report.
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The mission covers roughly 1,100 hectares of land, however solely 547 hectares shall be a part of the mission’s everlasting footprint. Areas housing the photo voltaic farm infrastructure shall be fenced off from the remainder of the location, Matlock wrote.
Georgetown Photo voltaic utilized to the Alberta Utilities Fee in March 2022 and acquired approval for the mission in Nov. 2.
Vulcan County participated within the listening to in a “restricted capability” and raised issues about soil erosion and weed management, Matlock wrote.
“Vulcan County’s expertise to date within the renewable power improvement sphere appears to have recurring and particular points, notably with soil erosion and weed management,” Matlock wrote.
Georgetown is dedicated to particular erosion and weed management measures in its conservation and reclamation plan, he stated.
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“Soils shall be shielded from erosion, earlier than and through building, by retaining the stays of crops/stumps, the place building visitors will drive,” stated Georgetown Photo voltaic. “A stubble evaluation is accomplished after the crops are harvested to find out if there may be sufficient stubble left or if a canopy crop needs to be seeded to extend soil safety. In restricted circumstances the place soils should be disturbed, salvaged and conserved, soils might be protected by momentary replanting with annual species, erosion management blankets or any mixture of abrasion management strategies. as a system acceptable to the scenario.”
Georgetown Photo voltaic did in depth public session for this software, Matlock wrote.
“Stakeholder issues are about weed administration and management, decommissioning and reclamation, elevated visitors, dangers to human or livestock well being, environmental impacts, and visible/aesthetic impacts. . On the finish of their public session interval 5 of the estimated 23 landowner individuals said that Georgetown’s responses didn’t adequately handle issues concerning the location of the mission.