Construction set for solar project

By Jensen, Randy on August 4, 2020.

Greg Bobinec

Lethbridge Herald

gbobinec@lethbridgeherald.com

BluEarth Renewables and Bullfrog power, a Spark Power company, have announced the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) to directly support the construction of BluEarth’s new utility-scale solar project.

BluEarth will begin construction of its 39 MW Burdett and Yellow Lake Solar Project this month. The project is located southwest of Medicine Hat, in the county of Forty Mile, with commercial operations expected to commence in April 2021.

A purchase agreement was signed by BluEarth, Bullfrog Power, who is Canada’s leading provider of green energy and PPA solutions, and the Royal Bank of Canada. Bullfrog and RBC will purchase the majority of the project environmental attributes.

“We are very pleased to be investing in Alberta and positioned to break ground of the Burdett and Yellow Lake Solar Project in the coming months,” says Grant Arnold, president and chief executive officer of BluEarth Renewables, in a news release. “This project became a reality as the COVID pandemic unfolded, and credit is due to the initiative, perseverance and support of RBC, Bullfrog Power and our local stakeholders.”

The project will inject more than $70 million of capital investment into the Alberta economy through creating over 300 jobs during construction, along with contributing significant and stable long-term property tax revenue to the local economy. The project will also help satisfy the local electricity load requirement, produce enough renewable energy to power around 6,400 homes annually, and support the grid requirements during high demand and peak hours.

“Power purchase agreements like the ones Bullfrog Power and RBC have signed with BlueEarth are the most effective way to expand renewable energy in Canada,” says Sean Drygras, president of Bullfrog Power, in the release.

“We’re excited to secure a predictable, economic supply of renewable energy attributes from the Burdett and Yellow Lake Solar Project. As we continue to advise our clients on signing their own PPAs, nothing shows our belief in their value more than signing our own.”

Alberta has some of the best solar and wind resources in Canada, the release notes, and cost trend-lines for these technologies continues to decline. Alberta’s deregulated electricity market has provided corporations the ability to select and produce energy products that meet their needs directly from generators, allowing Alberta a positive jurisdiction for renewable energy investment and growth.

“We’re proud to be the first Canadian bank to sign a long-term renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement, demonstrating our commitment to clean, sustainable power,” says Scott Foster, SVP, Global Head of Corporate Real Estate at RBC.

“This agreement, and our partnership with Bullfrog Power and BluEarth Renewables, will help support our clients and communities in the areas where we live and work with the low-carbon transition, while accelerating clean economic growth. We are excited to be taking a leadership position in this sector and continue our support of environment-focused innovation.”

For more information on the project, visit bluearthrenewables.com.

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