Georgetown Solar Inc. is developing the 230-megawatt solar project located in Vulcan County, Southern Alberta, Canada
Georgetown Solar Project
We are committed to engaging openly with landowners, public stakeholders, government agencies, and members of the local community.
About the Project
Welcome to the Georgetown Solar Project
Georgetown Solar Inc. is developing a 230-megawatt (MWac) solar project located 11 kilometres south of Carseland, Alberta in Vulcan County. The Project encompasses
710 acres (400 soccer fields) and has been sited on privately owned cultivated farmland. The Georgetown Project began development in 2020 with land securement and the initiation of environmental assessments.
We are committed to sharing information about the Project and working with the local community to ensure that we receive and understand stakeholder feedback and concerns. We encourage community members and stakeholders to participate throughout this process and to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about the Project – our contact information is included below. The AUC brochure titled Public Involvement in a Proposed Utility Development can be found here: https://www.auc.ab.ca/regulatory_documents/Reference/PublicInvolvementBrochure.pdf
Project Benefits
The Project will have many benefits to the local community and to Alberta including:
Local Employment: During construction, the Project is expected to create up to 360 full-time jobs, creating opportunities for local individuals and Alberta-based businesses. During operations, the Project will provide up to 10 permanent full-time and part-time jobs.
Local Economy: Local businesses will experience increased activity in hospitality, retail, and other service industries during Project development, construction, and operations.
Property Taxes: The Project will pay annual property taxes to Vulcan County resulting in financial benefits to the local communities.
Clean Electricity: Local generation of renewable energy adds to the province’s energy mix providing a long-term, low cost and low carbon energy source. The Project is expected to generate emission-free electricity to power approximately 30,000 Alberta homes.
About Us
Westbridge Energy Corp.
Westbridge is a publicy-traded renewable energy company listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange with a focus on originating and developing utility-scale solar and energy storage projects to deliver clean electricity to Canadians. The management team behind Westbridge has developed more than 2-gigawatts of renewable energy capacity across Europe and North America, including 576 MWac of near-construction utility scale solar PV projects in Alberta. These projects will support clean energy procurements by government, commercial and industrial companies industries, and utilities.
Project Updates
As part of Georgetown Solar's ongoing stakeholder consultation, we are pleased to provide the following Project updates.
We have engaged Vulcan County to ensure the Project layout meets all municipal bylaws and requirements. We have also drafted a project-specific Emergency Response Plan, which we expect to finalize shortly with County Emergency Management Services. We are committed to engaging landowners and potentially affected stakeholders regarding the Project. The solar power plant application was submitted to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in on March 1, 2022. We will also engage Vulcan County for Municipal Development Approval in Q4 2022.
Completed Project Studies
Environment: desktop and field studies were initiated in 2020 and were completed in Q3 2021 including:
Environmental constraints mapping to identify buildable areas of land and avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
Desktop wetland delineation and field verification to minimize impacts to wetlands and surface waters.
Wildlife surveys including breeding bird, spring and fall bird migration, raptor, sharp-tailed grouse, and amphibians to mitigate impacts to wildlife.
These studies were compiled into the Georgetown Solar Project Renewable Energy Report that was submitted to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) on September 3, 2021. AEP will issue a Renewable Energy Wildlife Referral Report following its review and we anticipate this in December 2021.
Ongoing Project Studies
Historical Resources: The Project submitted an application for Historical Resources Act approval from Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women and received its approval on September 30, 2021.
Noise: The Project will complete a noise impact assessment per AUC Rule 012, Noise Control to assess noise for residences within 1.5 km of the Project.
Glare: The Project will complete a glare hazard assessment to assess potential glare impacts at residences, along roads, and aerodromes if applicable.
