Council here has deferred a decision on support for a 10-megawatt solar farm on a 100-acre rural property and has directed staff to collect more information.
First Ontario Energy and Bondfield LLP are planning to apply under the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) FIT program for approval of a 10-megawatt solar farm on leased property between the 16th Line and Given Road in Minto. The company requested a resolution of support from council, as municipal support is one of the factors in the approval process. Council passed the resolution at the March 19 meeting. However, at the May 7 meeting, deputy mayor Terry Fisk presented a notice of intent to introduce a motion calling on council to reconsider its support for the project.
Fisk said he has become “better informed” on the subject since the resolution was originally passed. In the interim, council has also received a petition containing about 100 signatures from local residents objecting to the proposal.
Several of the organizers of that petition, including Given Road resident June McDonald, attended the May 21 council meeting to present their concerns directly to council.
McDonald questioned “the unseemly haste” with which council made the decision to support the project, without actually seeing the site, or seeking any input from the immediate neighbours, “regarding their concerns at having a large industrial installation in the middle of an active farming community.”
She also said it was “disturbing” to learn of the project “only through the media.”
McDonald also expressed concern about the “cavalier attitude” in which Class 4 farmland was dismissed as “scrap” or “scrub” land. Although the land in question is considered ‘non-prime agricultural” she said, “that does not mean they are unproductive lands,” but that it takes careful management to produce good yields.
“This area has been farmed successfully in this manner for more than 150 years. With the rapid disappearance of prime agricultural lands in Wellington County for other purposes we may soon become very dependent on having Class 4 lands to be available for crops,” she stated.
McDonald also voiced concerns about the effect of the project on wildlife and natural areas, increased road use during the construction period and “stray voltage” on nearby farms with sensitive electronic equipment.
On behalf of the delegation of neighbours, MacDonald asked council to withdraw their support and also call a public meeting “to provide an opportunity for the residents of Minto to hear both sides of the issue concerning mega projects,” such as the proposed solar farm.
Charles Weber, a Minto farmer and a member of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture’s land use commit tee advised council the federation also has concerns about the project.
Weber noted the WFA supports the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s position that large scale solar projects not be allowed on productive farmland.
“While Class one, two and three lands are the most suited to farming, that does not mean that other classes of farmland are of no value. In fact, the site proposed has been actively cultivated and likely has crop yields close to the average for Wellington County. This is not ‘scrub’ land. This is land that adds to the food producing capacity of the Town of Minto,” said Weber.
Weber stated, “The best and most efficient way to capture solar energy is through photosynthesis and the production of food crops. The world’s population is growing rapidly and the demand for food will become critical. Ontario already has to live with the legacy of urban sprawl on substantial portions of Class 1 farmland. Today’s decision-makers need to have the foresight to protect tomorrow’s food supply.”
Urging council to reconsider the motion, Weber told council, “there are better locations and applications for solar technology closer to where the demand is greatest.”
Robert Forsyth, First Ontario Energy, explained the OPA is currently in a very early stage of awarding FIT contracts. He said actually being awarded a FIT contract is a long process and requires municipal input, public meetings and engineering and environmental studies in cooperation with several government ministries.
Forsyth noted there is capacity for a 10-megawatt energy facility on the local distribution system and local demand for the power.
“There is a load for that power locally. Essentially what we would be doing is supplying as much of the local power requirements as possible, putting the supply where the demand is,” he stated.
He also noted solar energy coincides with peak daytime demands.
In terms of protecting prime agricultural land, Forsyth said, “I do think that’s important.”
He said preliminary results from soil samples taken on the proposed site show “these are generally degraded soils…they could grow, but there are expected to be lower yields.”
Forsyth suggested the soil quality might actually be enhanced in the long run.
“It gives the land a rest for 20 years. Some farmers have said to us they expect their land to be more productive at the end of it.”
Forsyth said the solar farm operation will be set back from natural areas where required.
Stray voltage from the facility won’t be a concern, said Forsyth.
“Basically we engineer these things to very, very high standards so we’re not going to have any issues like that.”
Forsyth said the company brought their proposal to council at this point because, “We’re being forthcoming in terms of what we want to do. We’re trying to do everything we can to be open, proactive and fit in with the community.”
Councillor Ron Elliott asked if the developers had discovered any non-farming properties in the area where the project could be located.
“We’re on Class 4 land, which is what we target … so no we don’t have any other sites,” said Forsyth.
Fisk said he felt the inclusion of municipal support in the application process was “just a carrot” dangled by the province to create the illusion of municipal input.
“We really don’t have any control anyway. If and when we decide to approve the process, after that it’s out of our hands. And if we don’t approve the process, it’s out of our hands. So really, it’s out of our hands. The only thing we’re doing is allowing you to collect two points toward the project by supporting it. And as far as I’m concerned, if the project is worthwhile it should do it on it’s own merit without our support,” said Fisk.
Forsyth replied that the process gives the town opportunity to favour a project they are familiar with, over others they may not be.
“There may be other solar farms being contemplated that you are not aware of and they may be operating under different parameters than we do in terms of making sure funds are available for decommissioning, in terms of being as friendly as we can with the neighbours.”
Mayor George Bridge noted the solar farm developers have indicated a willingness “to sit down and talk about this kind of stuff. So my feeling is that we go and get the staff to do a report and come back with more information.”
Treasurer Gordon Duff explained that, having already passed a motion to reconsider support, council could approach the matter as if considering the original motion for the first time.
“You can approve a motion, defeat it or defer it,” said Duff.
Although noting he considers himself “a big solar supporter” councillor Dave Turton, made the motion to defer the decision, stating, “With the information we’ve received, I’m on the fence.”
The motion to defer was supported by Bridge and Turton, as well as councilors Rick Hembly and Mary Lou Colwell. Fisk, Elliott and councillor Ron Faulkner opposed the motion.
