Cork firm granted approval for solar project in Canada

A Cork renewable energy company has been granted approval for the development of a solar park that will be the largest of its kind in North America.

DP Energy, headquartered in Buttevant, is to develop the 325MW Saamis Solar Project in the City of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. The approval for the project follows a public hearing held in the city in April.

Once completed, Saamis Solar Park is expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 250,000 households and offset around 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

With more than 600,000 solar panels, the park will support Alberta’s target of sourcing 30% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Almost half of the 1,600 acre project is sited on a contaminated brownfield site consisting of capped phosphogypsum stacks, a by-product of fertiliser production.

This is the largest of three projects DP Energy has developed on similar brownfield sites, with the 64MW Barlow and Deerfoot Solar Park project in the City of Calgary, commencing operation last year.

“The solar park is a fantastic productive use of the land which will create local jobs and contribute to Alberta’s emission reduction goals,” said Damian Bettles, DP Energy’s Head of Development Canada.

He added: “The approval marks a significant milestone for the project and a critical step as the project advances towards start of construction.”

The park is expected to create a number of direct employment opportunities during the construction, operation, and decommissioning phases, as well as extensive indirect opportunities across the full supply chain.

DP Energy’s development portfolio in Canada also includes the proposed 200MW Miyopiyiwin Wind project in Saskatchewan in partnership with Piapot First Nation, and the 400MW Nova East Wind project, a joint venture with SBM Offshore, targeted as being Canada’s first offshore wind project.

Operating out of Cork for over 30 years, DP Energy has enabled 1.5GW (1,533MW) of renewable energy generation through 21 significant infrastructure projects worldwide. Currently, DP Energy has a 9.7GW pipeline of renewable energy projects across Ireland, the UK, Australia and Canada.

The company was recently granted approval for a 430MW Callide Wind Farm located in the Calliope Range in Queensland, Australia.

DP Energy also recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a large Irish utility generator to explore using green hydrogen as a clean fuel to power existing and future electricity generating stations.

The company is also researching battery storage and opportunities in international markets.