The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) considered two requests to file additonal evidence for the Halkirk 2 Wind Power Project.
The Battle River Group (BRG) requested an opportunity to file additional evidence relating to an airstrip owned by Gerard and Donna Fetaz; and a request from Joseph and Sara Felzien and Stacy and Trisha Fuller (the new BRG members) to participate in the proceeding as members of the BRG and submit evidence related to a January 2018 application amendment.
Based on the submissions filed, the Commission on March 21, 2018 determined that the BRG failed to establish sufficient grounds to warrant the inclusion of the airstrip information at this stage of the proceeding. The BRG neither alleged that the airstrip information was not known to it by the intervener evidence deadline or not discoverable upon reasonable inquiry.
The Commission determined that the BRG has not established that extraordinary circumstances exist that would justify the inclusion of the airstrip information more than four months after the date for the filing of intervener evidence has passed.
The BRG had wanted to submit new information proposed to be introduced as evidence included, among others, a document published by Transport Canada (the airstrip information).
In the second request, the Commission considered the nature of Capital Power’s amendment and determined it to be minor in nature as the collector lines would be located underground and within a County of Paintearth right-of-way.
Capital Power’s proposed application amendment was that the collector lines originally planned to be located on Fuller’s property were relocated to the County of Paintearth right-of-way along Range Road 144. The collector lines were not originally located on Felzien’s property, nor have they been relocated onto their property. Capital Power stated in an information response to the Commission that the landowner, the County of Paintearth, granted permission to host the relocated lines, and confirmed that no additional lands of private landowners would be required to host the relocated lines.
The collector lines were originally proposed to be located on Fuller’s property, but have been moved off of their property to the road allowance and that the lines are now in the road allowance east of Felzien’s property instead of on a neighbouring property.
In the Commission’s determination, the new BRG members have not provided any information to indicate that they will be directly and adversely affected by the relocation of those collector lines off of Fuller’s property.
Capital Power Generation Services Inc. (Capital Power) applied on April 13, 2017, to construct and operate the Halkirk 2 Wind Power Project (the proposed project), under the Hydro and Electric Energy Act. The proposed project’s site is located five kilometres north of the existing Halkirk wind power facility and approximately 12 kilometres north of the village of Halkirk.
The proposed project consists of 74 wind turbines, a collector system and a substation referred to as the Goldeye 620S Substation. If approved, the proposed project would have a total generating capability of 148 megawatts.
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