August 22, 2008

Arise Technologies set to build solar-power farm near Waterloo

WATERLOO, Ont.

Construction of Waterloo Region’s first solar power farm starts in November.

“All we need is a building permit,” said Jan van der Woerd, sales manager at Arise Technologies.

This week, North Dumfries township council approved the rezoning needed for the installation of $14 million in solar panels in an asparagus field near Highway 401.

Farmer Tim Barrie will lease 6.3 hectares of his 49-hectare farm to Arise to install the equipment, fencing and transformers. The project will generate about three megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 1,500 homes.

“This is something new and exciting for the township,” Mayor Kim Denouden said after the vote. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Arise has a deal with the Ontario Power Authority to sell the power at 42 cents a kilowatt hour for the next 20 years, van de Woerd said. This is four times the going rate, but the authority, which manages the supply of electricity in the province, is trying to encourage development of renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

After 20 years of producing asparagus, Barrie says his field needs the same amount of time to recover before another crop can be planted.

Canadian Press

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