US independent power producer (IPP) Silicon Ranch has begun commercial operations at Canada’s “largest” behind-the-meter solar project to supply power to oil giant Shell.
The 58MW Scotford solar project near Edmonton, Alberta, will provide power to Shell’s nearby Scotford oil refinery, chemicals plant and carbon capture complex. Silicon Ranch said the solar project will be able to supply 20% of the Shell refinery’s energy needs over the next 25 years and provide 100% of its energy needs at peak capacity.
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Scotford is Silicon Ranch’s first solar PV project outside of its native US, where it has built a significant presence in the country’s southeast, in states like Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina.
Reagan Farr, CEO of Silicon Ranch said: “This project not only supports Shell’s economic and operational goals, but also catalysed our own significant capital investment in the community, and as the long-term owner of this facility and the land it occupies, Silicon Ranch will contribute critical tax revenues to help fund government-identified priorities for decades to come.”
The Alberta government has undertaken a number of measures affecting the development of solar PV projects over the last year. In August 2023, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC announced a six-month pause on all renewable energy project development above 1MW amid concerns about the appropriate use of land. The AUC said it had heard concerns about the “impacts and pace of renewable generation development.”
Alberta is a largely rural state and accounted for around 75% of the new solar capacity added in Canada in 2022 according to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA).
At the end of the six-month pause, in March 2024, the government announced an “agriculture first” approach to renewable energy project development. This will see it alter permitting and approval processes, prioritising agricultural uses for land and the quality of local landscapes over maximising electricity generation from solar and wind resources.
The government said that it would “no longer permit” renewable energy generation projects on land with the highest quality rating “unless the proponent can demonstrate the ability for both crops and/or livestock, to co-exist with the renewable generation project.”
Silicon Ranch has become associated with this practice – known in the solar industry as “agrivoltaics”. The company has also developed projects in partnership with a number of major global companies, including social media giant Meta in Georgia and Tennessee and data centre company Tract.
