Sweetgrass
Solar with Storage

Under the current legislative framework, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) has policies in place which favour siting on agricultural land, as it has a lower risk to wildlife habitat. Currently in Alberta, renewable energy projects cannot be sited on Crown land or native prairie. We know that agriculture and solar energy are both ideally located on flat lands in an area with a high solar resource, leading to there being natural conflict between farm land and project siting.

• A few things Neoen is doing to reduce land use for the same power output:
  Installing the highest efficiency panels on the market
  Bifacial panels that produce electricity from the backside due to reflection off the ground (great with Alberta
  snow)
  Tracking technology that follows the sun throughout the day

Neoen understands the importance of controlling weeds and vegetation on the Project lands as keeping weeds and vegetation well managed helps ensure smooth operation of a solar project, minimizing costs, and avoiding growth that impacts equipment and could even shade solar panels. As part of the AUC application, Neoen will develop a weed management plan within the environmental protection plan. Neoen is required to follow the Weed
Control Act and ensure that noxious weeds are controlled. We also understand that there are nuisance weeds locally that are of concern to stakeholders, and we intend to apply best management practices to control nuisance weeds as well. We will fight weeds in the same way as farmers.

There is a heightened awareness on proper decommissioning and reclamation of energy assets throughout Alberta. Through the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) and Conservation and Reclamation Directive for Renewable Energy Operations, AEPA, 2018 (C&R Directive), there are other legally enforceable obligations provincially.
The C&R Directive will be used to guide revegetation and reclamation of the site, in order to ensure that vegetation is re-established, soils are maintained, and equivalent land capability is maintained during operations. As part of the C&R Directive, developers must complete a pre-disturbance site assessment (PDSA) prior to construction. At the end of project life, developers must return the project to the pre-disturbance state. The PDSA is used as a baseline by the province. A reclamation certificate from the province is required to discharge this obligation.
Neoen has strong commitments within their private lease agreements for decommissioning and reclamation and is required to describe how the operator will have sufficient funds at the end of life to pay for decommissioning as part of our AUC application. Neoen is committed to adhering to any new requirements the AUC may introduce with
respect to decommissioning and reclamation

The Project will require up to 1,000 workers during construction including roles such as Surveyors, Heavy equipment operators, Electrical contractors, mechanical contractors, Equipment Transportation and Hauling and more. Our preference is to hire local labour wherever possible. During operations, only a few full-time workers will be needed, and ideally
these employees are also local for ongoing operations. Neoen trains young workers looking to get into the construction aspect of renewable energy
projects. A job fair will be held prior to construction of the Project to assist in procuring local labour.

Neoen is actively seeking input from the community for a community benefit fund for the Project. We want to know what is important to local stakeholders. Should you have any suggestions as to how Neoen
can best support your community, please contact us to discuss.

The consensus is that the project wouldn’t affect vacant agricultural properties, but could have a negligible impact on residential properties due to changes on viewscapes. Neoen is working directly with residents near the Project to mitigate negative visual impacts.

The inclusion of visual factors in the environmental assessment is expected to promote more effective decisions regarding the acceptability of a proposed project and to create more suitable and operative environmental management practices.

All energy technologies come with risk of hazard. For BESS facilities, safety risks include thermal runaway and spill events. Thermal runaway is an exothermic reaction whereby damaged battery cells heat abnormally resulting in possible smoke, fire, or combustion. Thermal runaway can occur from an internal short circuit, external short circuit, external fire, and BESS degradation.

Spill events, including refrigerant, coolant, and oil spills, can result from equipment malfunctions or blunt force to BESS components, such as transformers.

Hazard events are rare and prevented by rigorous design and safety features, including active and passive forms of protection, stringent safety protocols, and 24/7 monitoring. If a hazard occurs, Neoen’s BESS facilities are designed to mitigate propagation, contamination, and injury.

Neoen works with local first responders to prepare integrated emergency prevention and response plans for its facilities, to provide facility training, and to ensure response capacity in the event of an emergency.

The typical response to a BESS fire is to let the compromised container burn. In some cases, cooling of surrounding areas with water may take place. Neoen’s BESS facilities are designed with separation between battery containers to prevent propagation. Passive protection, like the use of fire-resistant materials, spill trays, and non-combustible oils will be used to minimize severity of a potential hazard event. Water is never used directly on a battery fire.

In some cases, a battery fires may result in gas emissions, and evacuation may be required. An air dispersion model (ADM) has been completed for Sweetgrass storage that will determine impact to air in the event of fire.

A fire would trigger Neoen’s emergency response protocol.