Solar farm on Airport Authority property confirmed

A Toronto-based company confirmed Tuesday that it will use airport land to construct an 8.5 megawatt solar park.
 
SkyPower announced last week it would build a solar park in the city to be completed by mid 2011. On Tuesday the company revealed more details, including the location of the possibly $50 million project.

“This is an excellent opportunity to partner with a forward-thinking organization like the Thunder Bay International Airport Authority to bring forward something innovative and with economic benefits to the local region and provide clean solar energy to the people of Thunder Bay and area,” said SkyPower spokesman Brett James.


The project will create about 100 direct jobs during construction; there will be more economic spin-off felt in the region as SkyPower purchase supplies and materials, James said.
 
It’s a deal that’s been three years in the making, TBIAA president and CEO Scott McFadden said the solar park is a great use of real estate at the airport.

Located at the southwest corner of the airport property, the park will be bordered by the railway line, Highway 61 and the two runways.


“It’s actually land that really is ideally suited for this type of development because it’s not really suited for any other type of development,” McFadden said, adding that the project not only furthers the airport’s green developmental goals, but also the province’s and city’s green initiatives.


“We believe the airport is an economic catalyst for the community and region so we do spend a lot of time looking and for economic development opportunities and this is a success,” he said.

While the power generated by the park will be fed back into the provincial grid, the project will make the TBIA Canada’s first solar-power airport, McFadden said.


James said the park will produce enough energy to power 1,000 homes after its first year of operation and it will be primarily used in Thunder Bay and the region, including the airport. It will power almost 15,000 homes after 20 years and offset about 7,500 metric tons of carbon from the air per year.


“It’s a significant part of the local generation,” he said.

McFadden said the park won’t be a visual eyesore, as one of the only areas it can be seen from, other than overhead in a plane, is on top of the bridge on Highway 61 that overpasses the railway tracks.

He added solar power is virtually silent.
“I think the amount of noise if standing (a foot) from a transformer would be less than the normal domestic dishwasher,” he said. “We don’t see any negative impacts at all.”


Construction is set to begin in January with electricity being provided to the grid by midsummer.