Shifting sands
Impact concerns remain as silica plan pivots from fracking to solar power

By: Ben Waldman
Posted: 2:00 AM CST Monday, Dec. 13, 2021
Last Modified: 11:59 AM CST Monday, Dec. 13, 2021 | Updates



Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc. announced plans last week to pivot to solar glass production and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

A Canadian company previously engaged in hydraulic fracturing is pivoting to solar glass production, and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc., and the City of Selkirk announced the plans last week.

The move toward solar panel glass production is considered by the city to align with its sustainability mandate, and will create an estimated 300 jobs, while the company said the move toward solar panel development made strong business sense. Selkirk director of sustainable economic development Tim Feduniw called it "potentially the largest single industrial investment in the last 100 years in Selkirk."

When Canadian Premium Sands first received approved quarry leases in Seymourville, located about 160 kilometres north of Selkirk on the territory of Hollow Water First Nation, the company intended to use the silica sand deposits in fracking — a process in which silica sand particles are injected into the earth to extract resources.

Although the First Nation’s government agreed to the leases with CPS, which had its licence issued and approved by the province in May 2019, there has been opposition from some community members concerned over impacts on nearby bodies of water, air and land, as well as a lack of community consultation by their government or a community-involved environmental review beforehand.

"The silica sand of this unique landscape is central to Ojibwa spirituality," Hollow Water’s Marcel Hardisty wrote in a 2019 op-ed for the Free Press. "It is like the stars in the Milky Way. We come from the stars, and we return to them — that is our belief. As a way of honouring that link, sand was used in burial rituals, placed on the ground around the deceased to guide them home to their place among the stars with their ancestors."

Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc. announced plans last week to pivot to solar glass production and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Now, instead of fracking, the publicly traded company intends to use that silica sand to manufacture panelled glass for the solar power industry.

CEO Glenn Leroux says the move makes good business sense. "When the oil and gas sector cratered, and then COVID hit, our original business plan wasn’t viable anymore." So the company reconsidered potential uses for the low-iron silica, which is a base component of glass for solar panelling. Market research showed there were no North American solar glass manufacturers, Leroux said; all such product was sourced from China and other countries in the Pacific rim.

"This is a dramatic pivot for us, but every potential customer we’ve spoken to has growth plans," he said. "Solar is going to be a huge component of (future policy and carbon reduction targets). It’s rapidly growing, and let’s face it, it’s where the world is going, so it’s the right thing to do."

Even with the change in plans, some are skeptical and remain concerned over potential environmental impacts of the proposed operation.

Mary-Jane McCarron, who lived on Hollow Water for years and whose two sons are members, says while fracking is much more detrimental, there are still fears over the potential impact on the water, air, and land surrounding the quarry in Seymourville through extraction for glassmaking. As well, there are concerns the operation will go through the local trap line.

"This looks like a panicky effort to come up with something that looks environmentally responsible in order to get the money out," said McCarron, who is involved in Camp Morning Star, a demonstration set up after CPS was first issued licences in Hollow Water.

Don Sullivan, a research associate for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, wrote in an online article for the CCPA last week that the revamped plan "contains a good deal of greenwashing."
Jim Mone / The Associated Press Files

Low-iron silica is a base component of glass used for solar panels.

Leroux disputed that statement, and said the change in direction was not a strategic way of "greening up," but that it made economic sense as solar power installation is anticipated to increase significantly in the next decade. Profit-wise, it was a better option, he said; environmentally, too.

On the environmental front, he said one-tenth as much silica will need to be extracted and processed for patterned-glass making annually as would have been extracted for fracking purposes. He also emphasized the products being made would promote a reduced reliance on carbon and promote renewable energy development. And, they wouldn’t be coming from thousands of kilometres away.

"This is green, but we didn’t set out to see how we can ‘green’ this company," he said. "The business opportunity for solar glass was a way better opportunity."

He also said that quarry leases are granted by the provincial government’s mines branch. "CPS has participation agreements with financial benefit elements in place with both Hollow Water and Seymourville, the details of which are confidential," he wrote in an email.

Leroux said the company will need to receive a notice of approval for an alteration of its environmental licences, along with approval of business permits. Plus, the company will have to raise "hundreds of millions" of dollars in funding. Should they be successful in those regards, he anticipates development of the manufacturing facility could begin by the end of 2022.

For the city of Selkirk, that manufacturing facility would create approximately 300 jobs, according to a release from the company, and could potentially spur other developments in the solar energy sector.

A city spokesperson reiterated Selkirk’s role is as host, not as partner, in the proposed project. "We recognize that there were concerns about a proposed past project that did not go forward," an email read. "What has been presented to us is a very different project with very different environmental outcomes. It is solely about the manufacturing of solar glass."

"CPS in our dealings have demonstrated their belief and commitment to environmental licensing processes as well as respecting and working with (I)ndigenous communities and their associated land rights," the email continued. "It is our view that this project represents a positive transition in the energy sector as it looks to divert resources to greener energy products for the benefit of all."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Waldman
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Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.