Original story from Sudbury.com (Author: Tyler Clarke)

The project is in its earliest stages, with Tuesday’s preliminary support from Greater Sudbury city council a means of helping push an application forward.

A 15-megawatt solar panel array might end up being built on vacant land at the north end of the Greater Sudbury Airport property.

During Tuesday’s city council meeting, the city’s elected officials gave the proposal their unanimous support.

City Strategic and Environmental Initiatives senior planner Bailey Chabot clarified to members that this support is preliminary, and required to move an application forward.

“Offering our support for this particular project does not mean that the city has given our ultimate approval, it just allows them to make an application,” she said, adding that all bylaws and land use regulations will still apply during future application processes.

A map of potential locations for a 15-megawatt solar power project at the Greater Sudbury Airport. Image: SLR Consulting

City council’s preliminary approval joins that of the Sudbury Airport Community Development Corporation, whose CEO, Giovanna Verrilli, drafted a letter of support.

“The airport recognizes the benefits this project may bring to the region, including green energy solutions, economic development and job creation,” she wrote in her letter of support, noting the Greater Sudbury Airport supports the project.

“The Greater Sudbury Airport is working closely with Alectra Energy Solutions to advance a land lease agreement on the airport property for the purposes of a solar project under the IESO’s L2 procurement.”

The IESO is the Independent Electricity System Operator, a Crown corporation which manages the province’s power system. The “L2 procurement” in question is a series of request for proposals IESO has initiated to up capacity to help meet future energy needs.

Sudbury.com reached out to the IESO to request a phone interview, but they denied it due to what a spokesperson described as procurement rules which limit what they can say about any one particular project.

They issued a written statement in which they note that Ontario “is entering a period of significant need with demand for power expected to increase by up to 75 per centby 2050 due to electrification, decarbonization and economic growth.”

They’re addressing this growing need with a 12-year, $10.9-billion investment into energy efficiency under their Save on Energy brand and “building new transmission to get electricity to new projects that are creating jobs and economic activity in Ontario.”

The umbrella effort under which the Greater Sudbury Airport project would fall is targetting an October proposals deadline and April 2026 timeline for notifying successful proponents.

Sudbury.com requested context regarding what a 15-megawatt operation would be, and the spokesperson noted that Wednesday’s forecasted peak for Northeastern Ontario, including Sudbury, is 1,309 megawatts.

Should a contract be awarded, the Greater Sudbury Airport solar power project would sell energy to the provincial grid under a contract for a period of 20 years, after which Chabot’s report notes, “the applicant expects to continue selling the power to the grid in some capacity for an additional 10-plus years.”

In Chabot’s report to city council, it’s also clarified that the proponent is to submit a glint and glare study “which shows the proposed projects pose no hindrance to the airport operation in any way.”