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Rural New Brunswick may soon find itself hosting a 150-megawatt solar farm, according to an early May announcement by the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council together with Ireland-based renewable energy developer BNRG Renewables.
The province’s biggest solar project to date, the Cookville Solar Project is named for the tiny community (population 200) that will host it. Cookville is located in the Tantramar region, some 15 kilometres north of Sackville.
It is seven kilometres east of another proposed energy project: the deeply controversial Tantramar gas and diesel power plant, reports CBC News.
The Cookville Solar Project could produce enough emissions-free electricity to power 12,500 homes annually.
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Stretching “roughly three kilometres north to south and two kilometres east to west,” the proposed 400-hectare site is primarily on land owned by the Acton family, fifth-generation farmers who own one of the largest beef feedlots in the Maritimes.
The Actons have said they intend to pursue various forms of agrivoltaics on the land along with the solar panels, with sheep grazing, honey production, and blueberry cultivation all in the mix.
Construction of the project, which will consist of 340,000 solar panels plus an electrical substation and communications tower, is expected to take between 18 and 24 months, according to environmental impact assessment documents submitted to provincial authorities.
The targeted completion date for the project is 2029. It is expected to operate for roughly 40 years before it will need to be decommissioned.
The collaboration between North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council and BNRG Renewables began after the two parties signed an agreement during the Atlantic Indigenous-Led Energy Symposium in Fredericton in 2024, says Canada Energy Future.
At least one big hurdle remains: NB Power has not yet signed a power purchase agreement with the project’s developers, CBC reports.
The utility issued a call for power last May and awarded a 200-MW deal to Brighton Mountain Wind in December. That $550-million wind farm is owned and being developed by the mammoth J.D. Irving Limited.
As of December, the utility was “still considering 14 other proposals for large-scale renewable projects,” CBC reports.
The Cookville Solar Project has completed grid connection studies with the utility. The studies confirmed that the proposed installation is located in an “acceptable” place, according to a statement on the project website, co-hosted by BNRG and the Tribal Council.
An open house for the project is planned for May 27 in Dorchester, New Brunswick.
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Asurnipal/wikimedia commons
Rural New Brunswick may soon find itself hosting a 150-megawatt solar farm, according to an early May announcement by the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council together with Ireland-based renewable energy developer BNRG Renewables.
The province’s biggest solar project to date, the Cookville Solar Project is named for the tiny community (population 200) that will host it. Cookville is located in the Tantramar region, some 15 kilometres north of Sackville.
It is seven kilometres east of another proposed energy project: the deeply controversial Tantramar gas and diesel power plant, reports CBC News.
The Cookville Solar Project could produce enough emissions-free electricity to power 12,500 homes annually.
View our latest digests
Stretching “roughly three kilometres north to south and two kilometres east to west,” the proposed 400-hectare site is primarily on land owned by the Acton family, fifth-generation farmers who own one of the largest beef feedlots in the Maritimes.
The Actons have said they intend to pursue various forms of agrivoltaics on the land along with the solar panels, with sheep grazing, honey production, and blueberry cultivation all in the mix.
Construction of the project, which will consist of 340,000 solar panels plus an electrical substation and communications tower, is expected to take between 18 and 24 months, according to environmental impact assessment documents submitted to provincial authorities.
The targeted completion date for the project is 2029. It is expected to operate for roughly 40 years before it will need to be decommissioned.
The collaboration between North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council and BNRG Renewables began after the two parties signed an agreement during the Atlantic Indigenous-Led Energy Symposium in Fredericton in 2024, says Canada Energy Future.
At least one big hurdle remains: NB Power has not yet signed a power purchase agreement with the project’s developers, CBC reports.
The utility issued a call for power last May and awarded a 200-MW deal to Brighton Mountain Wind in December. That $550-million wind farm is owned and being developed by the mammoth J.D. Irving Limited.
As of December, the utility was “still considering 14 other proposals for large-scale renewable projects,” CBC reports.
The Cookville Solar Project has completed grid connection studies with the utility. The studies confirmed that the proposed installation is located in an “acceptable” place, according to a statement on the project website, co-hosted by BNRG and the Tribal Council.
An open house for the project is planned for May 27 in Dorchester, New Brunswick.
Your email address will not be published.
I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
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