Stavely area solar power project presented at MPC for land rezoning
By Lawrence Gleason, Local Press Writer
Plans for an 88 acre solar energy farm, to be located a mile east of Stavely, is closer to being realized. The applicant is Acetes Power, a subsidiary of the Mayel Group, a family owned group of business that has a century of history in Southern Alberta agriculture.
The family history started with John Ellis’ grandfather who settled in Nanton in 1905, acquiring farmland in Nanton and area. Ellis added to that family legacy, buying a quarter section about one mile east of Stavely after looking for a site to build a renewable energy project.
He first looked at wind farms near Carmangay, then became interested in solar, buying the Stavely area site in 2016. The site was chosen as it was close to a substation, which allowed the project to more easily tie into the provincial grid, making the project viable.
Solar farm plans were engineered, environmental studies done, and open houses held in three locations.
Stavely’s open house took place November 14, 2018 at the Claresholm Community Centre. Other open houses were held at the Nobleford Community Centre November 13, and the Coaldale Community Centre November 21.
Residents within a two kilometre radius of the site have been informed of the project that plans the construction of about 37,800 solar modules on 88 acres to generate about 8.5 megawatts, enough to power 2,000 homes, year round.
On May 22 Ellis presented his application to the siting members of the Municipal Planning Commission of the Municipal District of Willow Creek.
The application is to rezone that quarter section from Rural General to Rural Industrial, a necessary next step in the process of development.
The Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) members are more experienced in processing solar energy projects, having gone though the process last year with the larger Claresholm Solar Energy plan. The site for that project, too, was chosen as it was close to a substation.
At the MPC meeting Ellis found he has more legal hoops to jump through.
MPC member Glen Alm told the Acetes Power delegation he wanted only lands that are to have solar panels on them rezoned to Rural Industrial, not the whole 160 acres.
That’s the same condition the MPC had made for the Claresholm Solar Project. The MPC would only rezone to Rural Industrial the land that would have solar panels on it. That required those solar project managers to bring out the surveyors again and resubmit rezoning plans, with rectangles and squares overlaid on maps where solar panels would go, along with odd-shaped circles and rounded squares to avoid wetlands and areas unsuitable to put the solar panels.
That doesn’t mean the applicants have to call out the surveyors and start over right away. The site can be approved subject to survey, which means you have to do it, but you can do it later.
MPC member Darry Markle, who did his homework thumbing through the thick Municipal Government Act, found a section that said approval or disapproval of an industrial site on good farmland wasn’t in the ability of the municipality, that was up to the province. Since the province has given an okay through all the provincial probing and environmental studies, that limits the MPC’s hand.
Cynthia Vizzutti read out the section of the MGA found by Markle, section 619, which reads, “…a municipality must approve ..to the extent it applies to the licensed approval.”
That means the MPC can make changes to limit the impact of the solar farm. Those conditions can include ensuring only the portions of land that will have solar panels on them are zoned rural industrial, making sure there is dust control and glare mitigation of the solar panels themselves, and ensuring there is a plan to keep grass down.