ST. PAUL – Representatives from Elemental Energy presented information on the proposed Northern Valley Wind Project to County of St. Paul council on June 13, and have said public engagement is set to begin this summer.
Elemental Energy, a Vancouver-based company that develops, owns, and operates renewable energy projects across North America, has proposed a 75-megawatt wind power facility in the Northern Valley area of the County of St. Paul, 15 minutes south of Elk Point.
“We believe that there is energy... in the form of wind and the form of solar... and there's an opportunity to capture that, and to deliver that into the grid, into communities and areas where there's a demand for electricity,” said Liam Wolfe, development manager at Elemental Energy.
“We want to do that by collaborating [and] building trust with all the people we need to do business with.” Wolfe said there is “big demand” for renewable in Alberta.
County of St. Paul Reeve Glen Ockerman said he noticed the company “has a lot of your forces” in the province. “Is there any reason why? Is it more friendly, politically friendly or reasonable?”
Wolfe reiterated there is a demand for renewable energy. “There’s lots of customers, whether they’re retailers, or whether they’re corporate companies looking to procure renewable energy.”
In addition, Alberta is a competitive wholesale power market, according to Wolfe, citing that bigger companies such as Capital Power and TransAlta, or smaller ones such as Elemental Energy, “can develop projects in the province and sell power into the open market.”
According to Wolfe, this is unlike other jurisdictions, such as British Columbia and Saskatchewan, where Crown corporations like BC Hydro and SaskPower, “own everything from [power] generation, the [utility] poles,” all the way to retailers.
“In those provinces, the opportunities for development, and for wind and solar, are at the whim of the government, whether the government decides they want it or not,” said Wolfe.
“So, it has nothing to do with approvals, rules, or regulations?” questioned Ockerman. “It’s easier in Alberta than anywhere else?”
Wolfe said it is more about the demand in the province, adding there is a high demand for electricity in Alberta. “And the other thing... is the opportunity,” he said, adding the deregulated electricity market in Alberta allows power companies to develop projects.
Alberta is the only province in Canada that has an open competitive market that allows businesses to compete, invest, and innovate, said Wolfe.
Alberta’s deregulated electricity market began in 1996 when the Electric Utilities Act came into effect to encourage competition in the generation sector, according to information from Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). AESO operates the wholesale power market in the province.
The Northern Valley Wind Project is “expected to bring in significant local investment, jobs, and new clean electricity to this area of Alberta,” according to the Elemental Energy website.
Community outreach and consultation are also scheduled to take place in 2023, as well as an environmental review, project impact studies, and preliminary layout.
The outreach work includes a public open house scheduled to take place this summer for people to learn more about the project. The date is yet to be determined.
In May of this year, a group of around 50 families from the Elk Point and Lakeland area acquired legal services from environmental law firm Willms and Schier to combat the project, according to a May 15 Wind Concerns media release. The group is described as a movement of Alberta residents against industrial wind turbines in rural residential areas.
The law firm is the same group that challenged the recently proposed Northland Power project north of Elk Point, reads the release.
According to the group, the Northern Valley Wind Project is also located in a designated Wildlife Sensitivity Zone due to the presence of Sharp-tailed Grouse and bald eagles. Wildlife Sensitivity Zones are areas designated by the province that reflect potential risks to wildlife and wildlife habitat.
In mid-2023, the company will file an application to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC). If AUC approves the application, expected in late 2023, application for municipal permits will follow, as well as the planning for engineering and construction of the project.
Construction is estimated, if approved, to begin in early to mid 2024, with the commercial operation date expected to begin sometime in mid 2025.
