Project partners offer tour of quA-ymn Solar Facility near Logan Lake

BluEarth is a Calgary-based power producer that develops, builds, owns and operates wind, hydro, solar and storage facilities across North America.

“We’ve been working on this so closely for nearly 10 years,” BluEarth Chief Financial Officer Nick Boyd said. “To see it finished, it actually kind of feels strange, but very, very rewarding.”

The 60-acre facility was completed in June, built atop reclaimed tailings pond land at the HVC site during an 11-month construction process, with 39,000 solar panels tilted south to soak up sun.

A BluEarth facts sheet distributed to media notes quA-ymn is the first major utility-scale solar facility in the province, capable of producing 15 megawatts of power that makes its way to the BC Hydro energy grid.

The $50-million facility can power 2,400 homes annually with renewable energy and has an expected life span of up to 40 years, according to the facts sheet.

Canada Infrastructure Bank’s $35-million investment into the project through its Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative will create jobs and long-term economic benefits for the NNTC and member communities, according to the federal government.

The facility employs one full-time operator, along with additional support staff — in supervisor, safety and engineering roles — and contractors, according to BluEarth.

“Nlaka’pamux-owned businesses are approached first for contracting opportunities and any jobs are provided to NNTC prior to being more broadly circulated,” BluEarth notes in an email to CFJC Today.

Through the course of construction, Nlaka’pamux-affiliated contractors were awarded more than $3-million in contract work associated with the project, according to BluEarth.

Pasco spoke for more than 10 minutes during a news conference on Thursday, expressing his desire for improved relationships between Indigenous groups and the provincial and federal governments.

He also thanked the provincial and federal governments for their work on the quA-ymn project, noting an improving relationship with BC Hydro.

“Everybody is scared of the jurisdiction of Indigenous groups and that’s unfortunate when, if jurisdiction is done properly… then I understand the burden that it also places on us to make the right decisions,” Pasco said.

Pasco said projects such as quA-ymn provide a boost for a hurting B.C. economy, but structural problems at the federal and provincial government levels hinder progress.

“We see the need for revenues in this province, but everybody’s taking positions,” he said, noting negotiations between project partners began in 2011. “I will say this in front of everyone — that is not our mantra. We are here to work with everyone, but we are here to be respected. I hope this becomes a beacon for something different where we can actually work together and build something together to provide benefit to the people.”

Logan Lake Mayor Robin Smith said her community stands to benefit from the solar facility.

“If you’re looking into the future, there’s an end of life to mining at some point,” Smith said. “It is a revenue source for the District of Logan Lake in the future. But more than that, I think it’s important just to be a partner.”

Image Credit: BluEarth

Boyd was asked about environmental concerns the facility may pose in the area.

“We’ve done very careful studies over a number of years to make sure there’s no watercourses, no long-term pollution,” Boyd said. “We will recycle all the modules once we’re completed, so the impact overall is relatively low.

“In other places, there’s pushback from the community where you’re offsetting agriculture or something else. But as you can see on our reclaimed mine site, this is land that was not productive and nothing was happening.”

Pasco said the NNTC is pursuing more solar and wind projects, with potential locations stretching from Logan Lake to Lillooet.

One of those has already been green-lit, a solar facility in Logan Lake.

“BluEarth and NNTC were successfully awarded a long-term contract from BC Hydro in a procurement last year,” Boyd said. “That will be just over 100 megawatts, so about eight times the size of this one. That will likely start construction in three-to-maybe-four years.”

Boyd declined to reveal how much revenue quA-ymn will generate each year.

“We heard [Tom McCarthy, deputy minister for policy and co-ordination for the office of the premier] speak to this — having the partnership in place that facilitates these projects is really the key for us,” Boyd said. “We think that’s going to facilitate more of these projects — not just with us and NNTC, but with others around the province in the country.”

by Marty Hastings

Project partners offer tour of quA-ymn Solar Facility near Logan Lake

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