Canada's largest solar panel project to create more than 1,000 jobs in oil country

Hannah Jackson

CTVNews.ca Writer
Monday, November 15, 2021

Development of the Travers Solar project began in 2017 on a site covering approximately 3,330 acres of land near the Village of Lomond in Vulcan County.

 

BARRIE -- Canada's largest solar panel project is poised to create more than 1,000 jobs at the peak of its construction in southern Alberta.

That’s according to Dan Balaban the co-founder and CEO of Calgary-based Greengate, which is developing and managing the project.

The project, which is receiving funding from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, will be the size of 1,600 football fields and include more than 1 million solar panels.

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Canada's largest solar project under construction in Vulcan County

This is expected to produce enough power to provide electricity for 150,000 homes.

The solar farm – called Travers Solar – is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Balaban said the project is “unique” for a number of reasons.

“For one: the scale, it’s by far and away the largest solar energy project ever constructed in Canada, [and] one of the largest in the world,” he told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.

He said it’s also being constructed in Alberta -- in the heart of oil country.

“And I think that is just fantastic,” he said.

Balaban said the oil and gas industry in Canada is “going to continue to be an important part of our economy for the foreseeable future.”

“But it’s extremely important that we find other areas to diversify our economy,” he continued. “We’ve got phenomenal renewable energy resources, some of the best onshore wind in the world, some of the best sunshine in Canada, and I think we’ve got lots of natural advantages.”

According to the Travers Solar Project website, development began in 2017 on a site covering approximately 3,330 acres of land near the Village of Lomond in Vulcan County.

According to Balaban, southern Alberta receives more than 300 days of sunshine.

“In fact, the solar resources in southern Alberta is as good as the solar resource in Florida for the purposes of producing electricity,” he said.

Balaban said the area gets a lot of sunlight through the summertime as the days are very long.

“You know, solar panels actually produce better under sunny, but relatively cool temperatures,” he explained. “So you get the added benefit of the sunshine and the relatively cool temperatures to produce some great electricity from the sun.”

The website says the project will generate clean energy over its 35+ year lifetime.

Balaban said the project is going to make a “real difference to the economy and the environment.”