Darcy Bennett, left, and Darcy Allen presented renewable energy project cautions and guidelines June 12 at the Trochu Community Center. ECA Review/D. Nadeau
The fine line between a sermon and a lecture on Mon. June 12, at the Trochu Community Hall was hard to discern.
The topic—renewable energy development.
The speakers—advice givers and consultants Darcy Allan, with the provincial government’s Farmers’ Right and Property Rights Advocacy Office, and Daryl Bennett, a self-described “landowner’s landman”.
Organized by Kneehill County and attended by 100, the information session quickly established its scope: renewable energy growth is not far from “the wild, wild west” and landowners with visions of quick and easy money need a serious wake-up call.
The wake-up call comes in the form of, as both presenters said, developers who want to make money and landowners who, for the most part, have no clue how complex the playing field is.
“Your best protection,” said Darcy Allan, “is having legal representation from day one of your interaction with a renewable energy developer.”
Bennett agreed, filling his presentation with examples of the twists and turns in the lengthy approval and land development process.
“For example,” he said, “when a landowner appeals to the Alberta Utilities Commission without a lawyer, the AUC is more inclined to listen to the party that knows what it’s talking about. Lawyers know the game rules. You need a knowledgeable lawyer who knows the ropes to protect yourself and your land.”
D. Nadeau
ECA Review
