ACTUAL I TÉ • NEWS
Is there a solar farm in Pendleton’s future?
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
«There’s a lot of activity in certain areas of Ontario for certain (alternate energy) tech- nology,» said Jan Kieran, EDF EN Canada spokesman, during an interview at the com- pany’s July 9 open house on the project at the Curran Community Centre. «We have a special feeling for Eastern Ontario. It’s where we’ve constructed all of our solar projects.» The provincial government has a Sep- tember 1 deadline for applications to the Ontario energy system’s alternative supply program. Companies in the «green energy» sector can propose small- and large-scale projects involving solar energy, wind, or biomass generation, and also small-scale hydroelectric setups.
EDF EN Canada has been working on plans for its Pendleton project since 2011, first scouting potential sites and then acqui- ring the land for the project, following with meetings with officials for the township and the South Nation Conservation Authority, and also with neighbouring land owners. Last Thursday’s open house was the la- test step in the company’s information and consultation process as part of its project development brief to present to the province with its energy program application. M ore than three dozen residents drop in to the community centre to view informa- tion panels and talk with EDF EN Canada officials. Kieran said overall response to the company’s proposal has been positive and he credits the company’s policy of trying to be a community partner with all of its solar energy projects. “We operate andmaintain our facilities,” he said, “we are active in the community. We are a neighbour. We have staff whomow the lawn and shovel the snow on site. We are in the community.” Kieran noted that what EDF EN Canada needs most from residents in the Pendleton, Curran and other areas adjacent to the pro- posed solar farm site is feedback. The com- pany’s proposal includes plans for a “green screen” of trees and shrubbery native to the area surrounding the solar farm site as part of the viewscape plan to hide the array of panels from the view of people driving by. “It’s all still an open process,” Kieran said. “We are here to listen.” Company officials are optimistic that they can present a proposal that will earn pro- vincial approval and add another alternate energy project with the EDF EN Canada label on the list of “green energy” sources for Ontario’s power grid. “We’re excited,” said Kieran. “It’s a busi- ness we know well, it’s a community we know well, and it’s a technology we know well. We think we can submit a winning proposal.” Residents and other interested indivi- duals or groups who were not able to attend the Curran open house can still present comments about the Pendleton solar farm project proposal. Email: PendletonSolar@ edf-en.ca, go to the company website at www.edf-en.ca, or phone toll-free to 1-844- 553-3336.
A Toronto company is burning the mid- night oil now tomake sure its proposal for a solar farm project in Pendleton is ready to present to the provincial government for approval. EDF EN Canada Inc. wants to set up a 14-megawatt solar farm in the Pendleton area of Alfred-Plantagenet Township. The proposed solar farm would be located on a 140-acre property near the intersection of County Roads 19 and 2. If approved, it will be the latest of several similar projects the company has set up in other parts of Eastern Ontario.
Antoine Cognard of EDF ENCanada talks answers questions about the company’s proposed solar farmproject for Pendleto.
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