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), opens new tab. 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.
