In a move to combat the effects of climate change and usher in the usage of clean, renewable energy, our Town of Perth Ontario plans to start a partnership together with Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. to covert 60 acres of land into a 10 megawatt solar park. If the plan pushes through, the property, which served as the former Darou Farm/Wildlife Rd. landfill, will contain approximately 50,000 large solar panels placed on racks. Once operational, the park is expected to produce enough energy to power 1,000 homes, about half the households in Perth, Ontario. The solar park’s creation will be made possible once the CSSI’s plan is approved by the Ontario Power Authority or OPA.
Should this plan push through, it would be extremely beneficial to the residents of Perth Ontario. Thanks to CSSI, an international solar cell manufacturer based in Ontario, and the local environmental group ecoPerth, a proposal was drafted containing details of the undertaking. The best part of the deal is that CSSI will shoulder the capital and operating costs of the project, even paying the town $40,000 a year for 20 years, based on the sites projected 10 megawatt production. An excellent deal, seeing that the land used to be a landfill, making it unsuited for other uses.
It gets even better. Once construction goes underway, the deal between Perth Ontario and CSSI stipulates that the town is to be provided with $400,000 for the rehabilitation of the heritage stone house on the Darou site, as well as other miscellaneous that will benefit the town.
CSSI plans on calling the solar park the “Wendy Laut Solar Park”, named after a prominent Perth Ontario Councilor, businessperson and volunteer who passed away this year. Since the time of her passing, friends of the councilor have come together to work on a large-scale project as a means of paying tribute to her efforts. With the extremely good benefits this idea brings about, citizens are crossing their fingers, hoping that this plan pushes through.
