A controversy is brewing in East Kootenay over a solar farm being mulled in what advocates describe as a swath of valuable forest and grassland area that is part of the migration route for a variety of at-risk species.
The Vancouver-based Enterprise Renewables wants to explore just under 5o square kilometres of land north of Cranbrook for the potential environmental impact of a solar facility. It’s currently seeking an investigative license to do so, and receiving a flurry of concerns during the public feedback period associated with that.
The BC Wildlife Federation is concerned the exploration could affect the winter habits of elk and deer, as well as species like the Lewis’ woodpecker and long-billed curlew, which rely on the land for food and nesting.
“It seems ridiculous to cover productive forest and grassland in solar panels, especially when it is habitat for so many species,” the federation’s director, Jesse Zeman, said in a Thursday news release. “If you want solar on your property, would you put it on the roof, or on top of the vegetable garden?”
Enterprise Renewables co-founding partner Dave Kusnierczyk said he’s happy to receive the feedback. He also noted that while exploration could span less than 50 square kilometres, if ultimately successful, the facility itself is not likely to exceed two kilometres in size.
“It’s great to get comments early on about where people consider areas to be sensitive during the investigative license period,” the professional engineer told Global News.
“We will be looking for commentary like this as well in a structured process that we will go through. It’s not too early to do it, but certainly there’s going to be opportunity in the future to be able to give us feedback on where we should put the panels, etc.”
Kusnierczyk said BC Hydro will be looking for clean power projects bids next August, at which point Enterprise Renewables would submit its solar proposal if all goes well during investigation. If approved, construction wouldn’t take place for several years, and service would be even further down the road.
Solar energy will help B.C. meet its climate targets and diversify its energy generation, he added.
“The solar resource in the area is excellent and what that means is, you can have the lowest cost of energy in terms of solar in that area in the province,” he explained. “It’s not the best in the world, but solar has a place to play in the generation stack.”
Energy Minister Josie Osborne wasn’t available for an interview Friday, but in a written statement, said the province has “a rigorous regulatory review process in B.C. to ensure decisions on such projects factor in local input and environmental considerations.”
“People in B.C. are seeing the impacts of climate change on the province we call home and they are taking action,” she wrote.
“As our population and economy grow – and people make the switch to clean energy – that means more demand for clean power.”
She added that B.C. hopes to grow its role as a “clean energy superpower.”
Some opponents of the Enterprise Renewables proposition met Global News in what could become the exploration area in Skookumchuck Prairie, expressing concerns about clearcutting of trees, loss of grass, and blasting operations.
“It’s not clear why such large areas have been targeted,” Tim Ross said. “It’s been determined that the most successful habitat type we have here in East Kootenay is this forest-grassland interface, so once again, if we were to put a solar array here, not only would we lose the values for cattle, wildlife and the natural grasslands, but we would also have basically wasted those millions of dollars that we have invested in returning these grasslands and forests to a better ecological balance.”
He acknowledged the size of the possible solar farm wouldn’t be as large as the exploration area, but said it’s not just about the size. It’s the accompanying infrastructure that would need to be built, including roads and fencing.
Karen Barraclough, a local ranch owner, said elk and deer in the region are a “major draw” for people who use and enjoy the land. Without the ample grassland available to them, she said she’s worried the elk will cross into her fields and others.
She also raised concerns about the long-billed curlew, a bird listed of “special concern” under the federal government’s Species At Risk Public Registry. When the curlew is nesting, Barraclough said, she’s not even allowed to let her cattle graze in the nesting area.
“Once the ground is sprayed out, if they put solar panels on it, we end up with nothing but noxious weeds and there’s no way to control that, and that will spread even farther to the ranches and the areas around here,” she explained.
“This is also a natural carbon sequestration because it’s one of the natural grasslands left in B.C. and it’s one of the temporate grasslands that we do have — I think this is one of only two areas in B.C. like this.”
— with files from Kylie Stanton
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