Western Canada’s First Utility Scale Solar Project
With funding in Round 10: Open Call in 2015, Elemental Energy constructed a 15-megawatt solar facility near Brooks, Alberta. This innovative project demonstrated the advantages and performance of large-scale solar power in the province.
The project is located on approximately 78 acres of land and consists of over 48,000 photo voltaic (PV) modules, eight inverters, nearly 300 kilometers of electrical cables and a variety of associated civil, mechanical and electrical equipment. As Western Canada’s first utility-scale solar project (i.e. in excess of 10 megawatts), the project produces approximately 24,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 14,000 tonnes of CO2e every year. The Elemental Energy project was completed in 2018 and offsets the amount of energy produced by fossil fuels, thus reducing emissions. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this project is bringing direct benefits to the community by engaging a significant amount of local labour and subtrades, supporting economic development, and building long-term capacity in the rapidly growing renewable energy sector.
Innovations for Alberta Environmental and Industry Conditions
A critical consideration in northern climates is the ability of the foundation solar panel design to mitigate frost heave, i.e. the circumstances in which frozen ground thaws, expands, and lifts embedded foundations like those in solar technology. Due to location, the risk of frost heave at the project site is substantial. To address this risk, Elemental Energy developed an innovative design to balance efficacy of frost heave mitigation and overall foundation cost. A key outcome for all parties was a better understanding of what technical studies and analysis were required to assess the prospective impact the project would have on the operation of the grid. The result is expected to be a substantially more efficient and effective process which provides project proponents with greater clarity and certainty as to the technical requirements to interconnect a project.
What’s next?
Solar energy is now de-risked in Alberta from a technology standpoint and is now in the process of undergoing full market adoption. The project sells all produced electricity and environmental attributes to an independent corporate entity through a long-term power purchase agreement. The project’s operations are being actively monitored to identify ongoing areas for performance optimization with the continued goal of maximizing production while ensuring the maintenance of a strong working relationship with the local community. With the project’s success in the backdrop, Alberta’s solar energy sector has grown dramatically, with proposed projects now totaling thousands of megawatts.