The Alberta Solar One Farm near Burdett, about halfway between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. (Image from Enbridge)

By Chris Brown

Alberta Solar One

Enbridge solar farm near Burdett is now operational

Apr 6, 2021 | 10:30 AM

COUNTY OF 40 MILE, AB – A large solar farm on Highway 3 west of Medicine Hat is soaking up the sun and helping power pipeline operations.

Enbridge’s Alberta Solar One facility is just outside Burdett, about halfway between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. The 10.5-megawatt facility has 36,000 solar panels and supplies energy needs equivalent to about 3,000 homes, offsetting about 12,000 tonnes of carbon annually.

“This project is a win-win for Enbridge’s power team as we continue to grow our renewable energy portfolio and support Enbridge’s sustainability goals, says Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s senior vice president of strategy and power. “We’re excited to see our first Canadian self-power project come online, and we will continue to invest in opportunities across North America that generate energy to power our operations.”

Alberta Solar One will sell the energy produced back the grid and will displace electricity generated from carbon emitters like coal-fired power plants. The company is striving to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Later this spring, about 50 grazing sheep will be brought in to manage the grass growth onsite at the project.

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Alberta Solar One cost about $20 million to build.

The project was co-developed by Enbridge and Morgan Solar, a solar technology company based in Toronto. The project helps to commercialize Morgan Solar’s SimbaX technology.

The company describes SimbaX is an optical film that when applied to a standard PV solar panel concentrates light in order to boost the panel’s energy production. The Enbridge facility will be the first utility-scale application of this technology.