Greek power producer Mytilineos asks Canada's Alberta to approve solar projects on farmland

Metlen Energy & Metals SA

26/03/2024 19:08

By Rod Nickel
       WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 26 (Reuters) - Athens-based
Mytilineos Energy & Metals  MYTr.AT  asked the Alberta
government to permit two solar projects partly on prime farmland
and promised to continue crop production, company officials
visiting the Canadian province said on Tuesday.
    Alberta, led by Premier Danielle Smith, said last month it
will ban renewable power projects on prime agricultural land and
impose buffer zones to ensure wind turbines do not spoil scenic
views in the Rocky Mountain province. Alberta said it could make
exceptions for power projects that prove agriculture can
co-exist with power generation, and Mytilineos' request is an
early test of the new rules.
    Chairman Evangelos Mytilineos said he told Alberta's
utilities and energy ministers earlier on Tuesday that he
supported their restrictions, even though they make development
more difficult, costly and time-consuming. 
    "They are going to give us some more headaches but I told
them this is the right way to do it because you have to apply
strict rules to the grid transition before the situation gets
totally out of hand and there is a real disaster of the natural
beauty of the province," he told Reuters. 
    It is important Alberta clarifies the final rules quickly,
he said, adding that the ministers told him that should happen
by summer.
    Mytilineos last year spent C$1.7 billion ($1.25 billion) to
buy five solar projects, including Eastervale and Dolcy, the two
partly on prime farmland, from Westbridge Renewable Energy
 WEB.V . The projects, which Mytilineos wants to build between
2025 and 2028, would have capacity for 1.4 gigawatts, making
Mytilineos one of Alberta's biggest solar producers.   
    Until Alberta clarifies its rules, Mytilineos cannot advance
its projects by securing buyers for its power, the chairman
said.
        A spokesperson for Alberta's government could not
immediately comment.
        Alberta's restrictions may affect 57 projects worth C$14
billion, according to the Pembina Institute clean energy
think-tank. Big companies will continue investing under the new
rules, however, Mytilineos said.

($1 = 1.3573 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Editing by Tomasz Janowski
)
 ((rod.nickel@tr.com; X: @RodNickel_Rtrs;))