A regulator has denied the Westlock Solar Project, a proposed 24-megawatt installation on prime farmland in central Alberta, ruling that its negative economic and social impacts outweigh its environmental benefits.
The decision is in line with Alberta’s cautious stance toward clean energy, highlighted by its recent moratorium on new renewable projects across the province until early 2024 and the continuing regulatory confusion since.
Proposed by Acestes Power UCL, the solar project would have been built on Class 2 land—a highly productive category suitable for irrigated crops, second only to Class 1 [pdf]. Acestes estimated the project would generate enough renewable energy to power 7,000 homes and create 100 jobs, though it would have required changing the land’s crop production to a sheep grazing operation to accommodate the solar panels.
In its decision, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) cited a February letter [pdf] from Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities, Nathan Neudorf, conveying the province’s “agriculture first approach” to renewable projects. The letter signaled a ban on such projects on prime farmland “unless a proponent can demonstrate the ability for both crops and/or livestock and renewable generation to co-exist.” While acknowledging the letter as non-binding, the AUC said it viewed the minister’s directive as advancing a conservationist approach to Alberta’s most productive farmland.
The land in question was categorized as Class 3 at the time of the project’s initial proposal, but later reclassified during routine upgrades by the province. While the AUC found that the project’s environmental impacts were not significant, it determined that grazing sheep was less profitable than the existing crop production and caused economic and social impacts that outweighed any benefits of generating renewable energy.
Acestes had proposed sheep grazing on the advice of Steven Tannas of environmental consulting agency Tannas Conservation Services, who suggested grazing was the most efficient land use given the project’s solar design, which included panels spaced too narrowly for growing crops.
But the switch would reduce gross revenue by 40% compared to full crop production, or by 20% compared to estimates for producing crops alongside the panels. Acestes said the panel spacing was necessary to reduce the land footprint and because specialized equipment to grow crops under panels would be a costly deterrent for farmers.
Westlock County itself maintained a neutral position on this proposal, but raised concerns about future projects that may be developed on Class 2 lands if it were to proceed. Strong opposition came from Nathan Brown, a landowner adjacent to the site, who expressed frustration about the limited information available on the project’s impact. He raised doubts that the land could be reclaimed as promised, and was also concerned that Acestes’ plan to graze sheep was not well considered. Brown also said incorporating renewable energy on farmland would increase competition and raise land prices for farmers.
In a July hearing, Acestes legal representative Gavin Fitch framed the proposal as a small project with minimal impact on a site that could later be restored to its original condition. Fitch also noted that it encountered little opposition from the community, and “only the adjacent landowner actually objects.”
Acestes said the AUC should “follow a framework of regulatory certainty” and approve the installation, which was similar to other projects that have gone forward. But the AUC said a factual parallel to other decisions “does not relieve an applicant of its burden to show that its particular project, on its specific site” is in the public interest.
The decision follows Alberta’s controversial moratorium on new renewables, which has left the industry facing significant uncertainty. Jorden Dye, director of the Business Renewables Centre-Canada, likened the impact of the moratorium to a “tsunami,” telling The Energy Mix in July that “turmoil has engulfed the industry, and it’s still unclear what kind of marketplace will re-emerge once the Alberta government completes its regulatory changes.”
