Capstone Claresholm Solar Project highest capacity in Canada

By Herald on April 21, 2021.

A bird's eye view of the vast Capstone Claresholm Solar Project located in the MD of Willow Creek, now Canada's largest solar farm. The solar project is now generating power and revenue for the company. Submitted photo

Tim Kalinowski
Lethbridge Herald
tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
The MD of Willow Creek will hold the distinction of having the highest capacity of renewable energy generation per capita for any municipality in Canada as its new giant Capstone Claresholm Solar Project comes online this spring and its Transalta Winrise Project commences generating operations in the latter half of 2021.
“The MD of Willow Creek will be home to the highest capacity of renewable energy generation in Canada,” confirms Willow Creek CAO Derrick Krizsan. “We will hold that title, I am sure, for a very short time, but we will happily carry that mantle for as long as we can hold it.”
Capstone recently sent out a press release confirming its solar operation in the MD is now generating power and revenue. The project covers about eight quarter sections of land, and generates 132 MWac of electricity.
“I’m tremendously proud of our team for safely and successfully completing the Claresholm Solar Project, now Canada’s largest operating solar farm,” says Capstone CEO David EVA in the release. “This was an ambitious project with tight timelines, and Capstone, along with PCL and all our suppliers, had the added burden of overcoming the numerous challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which they passed with flying colours.”
While it is challenging any time good agricultural land is taken out of production for these types of projects, and the municipality has little option but to go along with such projects once permissions are granted by the Alberta Utilities Commission, but, in this case, Krizsan feels the company did engage productively with the MD prior to seeking permission from the AUC and provided some concessions on the agricultural side of things.
“There is always a concern when good agricultural land is taken out of production,” he confirms, “but over the course of the discussions (Capstone) had with municipality and council the decision to provide land for sheepgrazing was adopted by the proponent.”
Krizsan says the MD welcomes the opportunity to be home for this and other renewable energy projects in the future.
“Certainly the municipality is open to all industries, and this was a very proactive process with the proponent and the MD as part of the application,” he says. “And certainly we celebrate with the developer the opening of this project.”
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