Saint John clearing path for solar farms on rural land

By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A zoning bylaw change as part of a proposed $15 million solar farm project would clear the way for others like it, according to Saint John’s mayor.

Council voted Monday to approve first and second reading on land use changes that would include adding solar energy development to the “rural” zoning category. The proposal was requested by Saint John Energy, which is partnering with Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation and Universal Kraft Renewables on the Menahqwesk Kisuhs Energy Hub, a proposed $15-million, 10-megawatt solar farm on Old Black River Road.

“What we just voted on will be able to expand solar energy for the rural area, not only for them for that one proposal, but for the whole area,” Mayor Donna Reardon told reporters after the meeting.

The proposed changes to zoning and the municipal plan are scheduled for third reading at the Oct. 20 council meeting.

The city had previously created a green energy zoning category in 2019 during development of the Burchill Wind Project, which was designated as the category for wind and solar projects, according to council documents.

City planner Yeva Mattson told council the proposed changes would enable developers to install solar projects on land designated as rural resource uses, such as forestry and agriculture, without needing to apply for a rezoning.

Mattson said solar farms are “low impact,” and appropriate for unresourced sites.

Nobody spoke against at a public hearing Monday. Andrew Ahearn, director of engineering and system strategy at Saint John Energy, spoke in favour.

Ahearn told councillors the change wasn’t specifically for the solar farm project, but said the idea came out of the 2024 request for proposal that identified the zoning rule as a possible barrier.

He said the change aligns with other jurisdictions and makes it easier for developers to start solar projects.

“Enabling them to do solar projects without having to go through some red tape … allows for more attractive bids and more attractive players,” Ahearn told reporters after the meeting.

The project sees Neqotkuk and UKR as developers build, finance and own the project, with Saint John Energy agreeing to purchase 100 per cent of the electricity, Brunswick News reported in September, when the zoning change was recommended by the planning advisory committee.

Ahearn said the project would generate about two per cent of the utility’s annual consumption, compared to 15 per cent generated by the Burchill Wind Project, a 10-turbine, 42 MW wind farm that opened in 2023.

“Not only are we benefitting from the green energy, but we’re also benefitting from preferable rates, and we think that’s going to help keep rates sustainable for Saint Johners,” Hearn said.

The developers are in the midst of an environmental impact assessment and will be beginning consultation this fall to communicate “what the project is all about” to the public, according to Hearn.

The changes would also change the rules for the rural and green energy zones to allow a 30-metre setback from residential lots for solar projects instead of 100 metres.

That’s because they don’t require a tall structure or a wide footprint, and they don’t emit much noise apart from any transformer hum, Ahearn said. The original definition had been created with wind farms in mind, but “didn’t really align” with how solar was being handled elsewhere, he said.

Reardon said they wanted to pass changes that would provide the groundwork for future projects.

“That’s the way to do business, right? You don’t want to fix one issue, you want to fix issues for everybody with the same sort of project,” she said.

The new zoning category has “utility-scale” projects in mind, or projects which connect directly to the grid, so a secondary use like solar panels on a residence wouldn’t be a land-use issue, according to the report.

Ahearn said customers already have options to “put renewable energy behind the meter” for credits as part of a net metering policy.

The utility is open to “any renewable generation that presents a positive business case,” Ahearn said, and doesn’t have other “concrete” projects currently but is “hopeful” to see something soon, saying they’re accepting unsolicited bids.

“If someone had a piece of land and they wanted to develop solar, we’d be all ears for it,” he said.

The utility’s Zero30 initiative is working to create a roadmap to net-zero emissions, which will be released to the public in the “not-so-distant future,” Ahearn said.

“We’re excited to see what interest that might bring about,” he said.

At the meeting, Coun. Barry Ogden called the utility a “leader in solar power,” and Reardon told reporters it’s a company “that’s always been innovative and has been always evolving and reinventing itself.”

“They’re movers and shakers and we could be anything with those guys on board, who knows where they’ll take us,” she said.