Council members have received a new piece of the puzzle in deciding whether St. Albert's solar farm project will be viable for the city.
The solar farm proposal, including a business case and detailed design, is set to return to council Sept. 6. Last year when council was eyeing the project, the city said the Badger Lands — located in the northwest above Villeneuve Road and west of Hogan Road — would be well suited for housing a solar farm because of the high cost of removing the contaminants from the land for other uses such as residential development.
While previous city estimates placed the cost of remediating the land — meaning to remove the contaminants — in the range of $15.5 million to $25 million, a new study completed by the city places those costs at approximately $4.5 million.
From 2006 to 2020, the Badger Lands was used as a temporary snow dump, contaminating a portion of the site’s soil with road salt from the melted snow.
Questions from the public about the city’s high remediation estimate of up to $25 million led council to vote in August 2021 to commission the $35,000 remediation study.
Council received the results in a memo sent Aug. 15. In an email Friday, city spokesperson Cory Sinclair said the report itself is not currently available as it is "still only a draft," and the city is in the process of finalizing it.
Sinclair said the high previous estimate was based on “a conservative worst-case scenario” where the city would need to remove around 270,000 tonnes of soil from the site.
The city’s recent assessment shows around 54,000 tonnes of soil would need to be removed, Sinclair said in an email. This estimate is “much more accurate” because it includes an assessment of the area of the land where snow was used, Sinclair said, land that was not accessible for past assessments.
During the August 2021 council meeting, the city’s environmental co-ordinator Meghan Myers said when the site was previously examined in 2017, it was still being used as a snow dump.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said the report is “good news.”
“It now does put other choices of how to use this land on the table as feasible options,” Hughes said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said the results of the report are “interesting,” noting the new estimate is still “a lot of money,” but a significant reduction from the previous range.
“I’m looking forward to the Sept. 6 conversation around the solar farm, but I’m really looking to see if it’s a financial winner for the city,” Brodhead said.
Mayor Cathy Heron was not available for an interview, but when asked about her thoughts on the remediation study said in an email she "will wait to see the entire administrative backgrounder that compares the remediation costs to other options for the land."
The $4.5-million estimate “still includes several assumptions,” Sinclair said in the email. For the study, the city assumed the excavated soil does not contain hazardous waste.
Additionally, because the sample size/volume to conduct the study is limited, the estimate of total volume of material to be remediated had to be made “based on professional judgment.”
On Friday, Sinclair said the city is not able to share the remediation assessment report in advance of the council meeting, as it is still being finalized.
When asked whether council will be voting on the borrowing bylaw accompanying the solar farm project on Sept. 6, or other decisions, such as what type of project to proceed with (the options are municipal own-use, commercial-use only, or a hybrid), Sinclair said in an email this is yet to be determined.
“All decisions on next steps associated with the solar farm project are dependent on the content included in the agenda report presentation,” Sinclair said.
Public voice
Because council has already passed the first reading of a $33.75-million borrowing bylaw for the solar farm project, council can pass a second and third reading of the bylaw (passing it) at any subsequent meeting without triggering a petition period.
When asked where room for the public voice is at this stage in the project, Brodhead said the public is “welcome to come to council any time.”
Brodhead said some might see each new piece of information regarding the project as a benefit, whereas others will find a way to see them as negative.
“The challenge for councillors is to see between the two end games and try to track the best course for the city,” Brodhead said.
Hughes said she doesn’t know which direction council will go during the Sept. 6 meeting.
“It really depends on the data that we see,” Hughes said. “For me, [it] depends on what the best opportunity is, and if we need more information to go back again and make a clear decision.”
The agenda packet for the Sept. 6 council meeting will be published in advance on the city’s website on Friday, Sept. 2, as with other council meetings.
Questions remain surrounding report results
Councillors said the report looked at different degrees of remediation, with the $4.5-million estimate examining the most extensive remediation option (referred to as “tier one”).
Less extensive remediation — referred to as “tier two” — might bring down the cost, though councillors noted questions remain around the viability of each tier.
Brodhead said he will be looking to hear more about how remediation costs might change depending on land use, for example with residential-development options, or commercial-use options.
Hughes also noted the update leads to more questions “as to what exactly we’d be achieving with each one of the tiers.”
“That needs to be a serious consideration as we move forward to determine what [the] best use is for this site,” Hughes said.
Administration will answer council questions during the Sept. 6 presentation on the proposed solar farm project, Sinclair said in an email.
