DP Energy has received approval for the largest urban solar energy project in North America. The Irish renewable energy developer will commence construction of the 325MW Saamis Solar Project in Medicine Hat, Alberta, next year.
Situated in the north-west of Canada's sunniest city, the Saamis Solar Park supports Alberta's goal of sourcing 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Damian Bettles, head of development for Canada at DP Energy, expressed excitement about the project, stating, “We are delighted with the Alberta Utilities Commission’s approval for the Saamis Solar Park. The solar park is a fantastic productive use of the land which will create local jobs and contribute to Alberta’s emission reduction goals. The approval marks a significant milestone for the project and a critical step as the project advances towards the start of construction.”
The Saamis Solar Park is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 250,000 households and offset around 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The facility will feature more than 600,000 solar panels and will create jobs during its construction, operation, and decommissioning phases, along with extensive indirect opportunities across the supply chain.
The solar farm will be located on 1,600 acres, half of which is a contaminated brownfield site comprising capped phosphogypsum stacks, a by-product of fertilizer production. This project will be the largest of three developed by DP Energy on similar brownfield sites, following the 64MW Barlow and Deerfoot Solar Park project in Calgary, which commenced operation last year.
DP Energy’s portfolio in Canada also includes the proposed 200MW Miyopiyiwin Wind project in Saskatchewan, in partnership with Piapot First Nation, and the 400MW Nova East Wind project, a joint venture with SBM Offshore, targeted as Canada’s first offshore wind project.
Headquartered in Cork, DP Energy has enabled 1,533MW of renewable energy generation through 21 infrastructure projects worldwide and has a 9,700MW pipeline of projects across Ireland, the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Source: businessplus.ie