Why is solar being explored?

The proposed Saamis Solar Park lies on 1,600 acres in the City’s north and is considered a productive use of vacant contaminated lands from the former Westco Fertilizer plant and property not yet ready for longer term urban/residential development. Medicine Hat is suited for solar electricity generation given its abundant solar resource.

Rochelle Pancoast, Managing Director of Energy, Land and Environment with the City of Medicine Hat, clarifies that the City is not immediately building a solar farm. “Any decision on investing in new generation assets is subject to Council approval. Today, we've only acquired the opportunity, and all the associated approvals and engineering that have taken place thus far.”

If feasible, the City intends to construct the project in phases to accommodate affordability, manage grid congestion, consider stakeholder needs, and acquire learnings before proceeding to the next phase. The project will diversify the City’s current 299 MW gas-fired electric generation portfolio by adding large-scale renewable energy into the mix.

The City remains fully committed to our gas fired generation assets, which offer a high degree of 24x7 reliability, for as long as they (1) remain compliant with provincial and federal regulations and (2) remain economically viable. Renewable energy at the intended first phase Saamis Solar volume (<75MW) will be complementary to our gas-fired fleet and not a substitute.

Guiding principles for energy projects

In support of internationally negotiated climate change targets (to reach Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050), Federal and Provincial regulatory changes have, and are, expected to increasingly reduce allowable carbon emissions. The City of Medicine Hat must transition to lower carbon solutions to remain competitive with affordable energy product offerings.

The City is looking at all the potential options to transition energy delivery, and is considering carbon capture, renewable generation, alternative fuels (including hydrogen and renewable natural gas) as well as other potentially viable solutions.

At this early time in the decarbonization transition, it is difficult to determine which technology or technologies will succeed as the most effective and affordable solution, and therefore the City is looking to take a measured and diversified approach across multiple technologies.

With so much uncertainty in this transition – whether it be political, technological, energy security concerns, reliability questions, market design unknowns, consumption shifts, and more – the key principles guiding the City during this early phase of the transition include:

Read more about each principle here.

The basis of how we approach decision making, for the Saamis Solar project or any energy project, is it to drive value for our community by:

• Ensuring delivery of cost competitive, reliable, compliant energy to local customers (to protect and grow our economy);
• Providing sustainable profits from the Energy Business back to CMH, and if not viable, transition to external source(s);
• Managing the transition risk to protect our taxpayers from shouldering any unintended transition liability.

Of course, not all principles can be achieved when pursuing a potential solution or mix of solutions, but striking the right balance to both pursue transition advancement while managing risk for the benefit of our taxpayers, our energy customers and our overall community will be in the forefront of the City’s decision making.

Background on the project

On April 3, 2023, City Council accepted a briefing note requesting a capital budget of $7M for a Development Project that would allow the City to pursue an early phase clean energy development opportunity that would potentially provide a path to reducing the City’s carbon footprint and related costs to meet carbon regulations.

In September 2023, the City entered into a confidential Asset Purchase Agreement with the current owner of the Saamis Solar project, which is subject to multiple conditions precedent to closing, including the successful transfer of the Power Plant Approval to the City.

On February 4, 2025, the Alberta Utilities Commission approved the application to transform ownership of the Saamis Solar Park project to the City of Medicine Hat.

The City proposes to construct the Saamis Solar project in phases. The first phase would add up to 75 MW of solar generation capacity to the City’s fleet of generating units. (Please see the FAQ on this page for more information about this.)

The City entered into the conditional Asset Purchase Agreement for the entire Project and once ownership has transferred and all conditions precedent have been satisfied, the City will apply to amend the Power Plant Approval to permit development of the Project in phases to match the requirements of customers in the service area of the City.

The City’s near term interest is to consider <75MW and the timing/scaling of remaining volumes is to be determined.

What goes into vetting this project

There are many aspects that go into the Saamis Solar project decision. At this stage, the City is vetting the project to determine if it will drive value for our community.

Now that the City owns the project, we can properly pursue more detailed analysis that will inform how to optimize the value of this new asset, taking into consideration customer and community interests, as well as changing market and regulatory conditions. Any budget requests for any further project development will be brought forward for elected officials to consider and vote on in public meeting(s).

Who makes the decision

City Council is the proper forum to consider both whether the City should invest in the Saamis Solar project and any resulting impacts to taxpayers and the Medicine Hat utility rates.

Once a detailed business plan capable of informing a final investment decision has been completed, a recommendation will be submitted to City Council for consideration. The decision to fund and construct the Project will be made by the duly elected City Councillors.