There continues to be division in the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers related to a proposed solar panel project. Some residents say that if the municipal council ends up supporting the plan, it would be failing to protect agricultural land. It’s mid-May in the community, where it’s still too wet to plant crops. But nothing will be planted on a large parcel of land this spring, the site where a solar panel project is to be built in the coming years -- a project that’s generating concerns among some residents. Chloe Bichette, from a group called the Massey Wildlife Conservation Committee, said the solar panel project will take up valuable farmland. “This is the first project of its kind and this is a four-year span where these projects are going to be coming up,” Bichette said. “How much of our agricultural land will be taken away over that time?” Sables-Spanish Rivers council said that the 150-megawatt solar facility, which is being built by Potentia Renewables, complied with zoning and land use policies. That allowed Potentia to move to the next stage of the approvals process. The company recently secured a contract with the Independent System Electricity Operator and leased a 600-acre property about 12 kilometres outside of Massey for the solar panel project. However, some area residents have environmental concerns since a freshwater cold spring is just metres away. Gary Vermeer, a local farmer, said he believes the municipality isn’t following its own land use rules aimed at protecting agricultural land. “So really the decision that the township made is inaccurate,” Vermeer said. “I don’t understand why they did that. And Potentia is just using the factors to say, ‘yes, we can develop here.’ The township should say we’re protecting the farmland.” He’s concerned that the solar facility will continue to expand in the coming years. “Well, now that you’ve said yes to that, how about this area, this area, this farm,” Vermeer said. “And that’s not in line with what the township says in their land use plan -- it says they’ll protect land Class 3 (land) and they’re not doing that.” CTV News spoke to Sables-Spanish Rivers Mayor Kevin Burke while he was attending the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference in Timmins. “Environmental assessment and public consultation will be happening moving forward, I can’t say exactly when,” the mayor said, adding that if there are any “real environmental hazards” they’ll be addressed at that time to determine whether the project should move forward. “At this point, the municipality’s role will be to participate in the public consultation, but also if the project is approved, we will be involved with site plan control and making sure that all the t’s get crossed and all the i’s are dotted.” The farmer who has leased the fields for the past four years didn’t want to appear on camera but told CTV News that he had wanted to expand his operations but can’t do that now because the land is being slated for solar panels. A statement from Potentia said that the company “takes all concerns raised by the public seriously and values the relationship we have with our host communities.” Potentia said it’s planning the first of two public meetings for August, with informal drop-in sessions in the coming months to answer questions. The plan is to have the solar panels operational by November 2029.
