Proposed solar farm near Fort Steele, BC, Canada
Node Engineering has made an application to the BC Ministry of Forest, Land, and Natural Resources Operations (MFLNRO) to assess the potential of a large solar farm on a crown land near Fort Steele, BC, Canada.
The site covers about 300 Ha of crown land and is surrounded by two gravel pits, a shooting range, the Kootenay highway , the railroad to Alberta, a BC Hydro substation, two BC Hydro high voltage power lines and right-of-ways and a nearby municipal discharge.
The southeast Kootenay and in particular the region of Kimberley and Cranbrook has the highest solar energy irradiance in BC and one of the best of Canada (see solar maps at EcoSmart Solar map).
Under the BC Clean Energy Act, BC Hydro purchases electricity from clean energy sources, such as wind, hydro, or solar. The objective is to develop a solar farm of a minimum of 15 MWp in size and sell the energy to BC Hydro under its Standing Offer Program. (SOP).
The initial stage of investigation, preliminary studies, permitting and interconnection study is expected to be completed around 2019.