Building a power generation facility starts with securing land. Independent power producers (IPPs) are responsible for purchasing or leasing the land for their project.
Finding Land for IPPs
IPPs explore several land options when planning a project. How much land is needed, and how it’s used, depends on the type of generation project.
For wind projects:
- Only a small portion of the land options will end up being developed.
- Most farming activities can continue around the turbines once they’re operating
- Only small amounts of land are used for turbines, access roads and easements
An average 200-megawatt (MW) wind facility includes about 50 wind turbines (usually one per quarter section) and may span 30,000 to 40,000 acres, but most of the land keeps its original use.
For solar projects:
- More of the optioned land is used for the facility
- The total footprint is smaller than wind projects
An average 100-MW solar facility typically needs about 640-940 acres (4-6 quarter sections) of land.
Choosing Where to Build
Many factors go into choosing a site for an IPP project, including:
- Suitability for the kind of power generation (optimal sun or wind exposure, for example)
- How close the land is to existing power infrastructure like power lines, switching stations or substations
- Feedback from Rightsholders, communities, landowners and other stakeholders
Decommissioning IPP Sites
When a facility reaches the end of its life, IPPs are responsible for all decommissioning activities and cleaning up the site. They must follow all local, provincial and federal laws and any agreements they may have with landowners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out some common questions:
Yes. IPPs aren’t exempt from municipal property taxes unless a municipality chooses to make them exempt.
Yes. Typically, IPP agreements allow landowners to sell or transfer the title of their land, but it’s important to discuss this with an IPP before signing an agreement.
Normal farming operations are typically not impacted. Some wind companies may request easements to make sure the land is kept as is at the time of signing an agreement with the landowner.
More About Wind and Solar
There are some common misconceptions about wind and solar facilities. In reality, wind and solar are cost-effective additions to our power supply mix and don’t emit greenhouse gases while operating.
We’ve signed power purchase agreements with various independent power producers (IPPs) to build, own, operate, maintain and decommission many of the wind and solar facilities powering our grid.
Wind generation currently makes up about 13% of our overall power supply. Solar makes up about 2%. There’s no one source that can meet all our province’s needs. It will take a combination of sources to provide reliable, sustainable, cost-effective power into the future. Learn more about balancing power supply options.
Take a deep dive into our power supply mix at System Map and check out the projects we have on-the-go at Planning and Construction Projects.
