Solar farm developers circle on city of Dryden; Renewable energy, waterfront and tourism high on the city's agenda.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: DRYDEN/KENORA - Sustainable urban development

Northwestern Ontario is proving to be favourable ground for renewable energy developers to scope out property.

The City of Dryden is entertaining serious bids from three solar companies, including two Canadian firms, each proposing a 10-megawatt (MW) project for the community.

Dryden is in an area with the second highest solar concentration in Canada and the third highest in North America. The solar regime is even better than Germany, where one of the proponents is from.

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"We didn't hunt them down, they hunted us down," says Vicli Kurz, Dryden's economic development officer.

There's three potential sites within the city boundaries.

The best spot is in the north end near the cemetery where there's about 200 acres of public and privately-owned land that's largely open and gently sloping to the south. It's ideal for both fixed and dual axis solar panels.

Kurz says this preferred site already has Ontario Hydro's approval.

The kind of dollars being talked about for the individual photovoltaic projects range between $40 to $60 million. If all three go off, it could mean a combined investment of $140 million to $170 million spent on equipment and employment. This is good news for the city particularly with taxation opportunities.

All three firms tell the city their proposals conceivably could be operational within a year or two if all the necessary approvals were in place.

Kurz says there's offers from other developers bidding on the north end site that could come forward by a mid-June deadline.

"We've held conference calls with several different firms... explained the projects and sent them maps on our properties...".

For now, the city is keeping its options open in choosing a land-lease route or getting into a municipally-owned solar project. Either way it stands to be a money-maker for the city.

The power generated could be sold into the Ontario grid or used within the city.

Kurz says there's still information forthcoming from Hydro One on the location and capacity of transmission lines and regional pinch-points which will likely influence the development corporation's final recommendations to city council.

"If we do an ownership agreement (with the developers) that might be a completely different thing if we're using (the power) for our own purposes."

A city energy committee will review all the final offers and could select a preferred site developer by late June.

Under the Ontario Power Authority's rules, individual...