Sturgeon goes solar
Sturgeon County’s main fire hall may soon become a power plant if a grant to put solar panels on its roof comes through.
County council voted May 14 to have SkyFire Energy Inc. put a $188,409 solar photovoltaic system atop the county’s Protective Services Building west of Namao. The contract is contingent on the county getting an $86,649 from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre. The county’s share of the bill ($101,760) will come out of the contingency reserve.
Council asked administration to check out grants for renewable power on county buildings last March.
The plan is to put a 313-module system atop the protective services building that would generate at least 118,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, save the county about $8,000 a year and pay for itself in 13 years, said municipal services general manager Scott MacDougall. The system should produce more power than the building needs, making it a net exporter of energy.
MacDougall said SkyFire had installed similar systems on many Alberta public buildings, including the one atop the St. Albert Transit bus depot. This system would require minimal maintenance and would last about 30 years.
“This is a project we can be proud of,” he said.
MacDougall said his staffers would look at other opportunities for renewable energy in the county, such as at lift stations.
Coun. Wayne Bokenfohr called this move a great way to start the county’s next 100 years and a great step forward for environmental stewardship.
MacDougall said the panels would likely be operational this fall.
Cannabis shop laws
A proposed law could soon make Sturgeon County open for business when it comes to growing and selling cannabis.
County council passed first reading of amendments to its land-use bylaw relating to cannabis last week.
Council added cannabis sales, production and distribution to its land-use bylaw last June but didn’t actually specify where those activities could happen, preferring instead to wait until recreational cannabis use became legal. Legalization happened last October, so administration has tabled some suggested rules based on community consultations.
The draft bylaw treats medical and recreational cannabis operations the same. It allows the county to require landscaping and public consultation, and other mitigating measures to tackle noise, smell, light, odour, and dust at cannabis production and distribution centres.
The draft divides cannabis production and distribution centres into micro (anything under 200 square metres or 600 kg of material a year) and standard (everything else). Centres are able to set up shop in medium and heavy industrial zones with a permit and in the Airport Support district at the county’s discretion under the draft, with micro-sized ones allowed on farmland at the county’s discretion. Centres would have to be at least 300 (micro) and 400 (standard) metres from homes on the next parcel, with just one micro-sized centre allowed per parcel.
The draft makes cannabis stores a discretionary use in county commercial districts and requires them to be at least 100 m from the nearest school or hospital site/reserve. (None of the county’s current commercial zones are near school or hospital sites.) In an email, the county's current planning and development manager, Colin Krywiak, said Sturgeon had yet to receive any applications to build a cannabis store.
The draft defines “cannabis consumption venues” but doesn’t attach that use to any zone as cannabis edibles aren’t yet legal in Canada. It also clarifies that industrial hemp (which is not the same as marijuana) is legal to grow in any agricultural zone without a county permit. (You still need a Health Canada licence for it.)
The draft bylaw now goes to a public hearing.
