A $20 million solar farm in southern Alberta built by Enbridge may be the first of many similar green power products developed across the country as Enbridge seeks to spend half a billion dollars on renewable power plants to power its pipeline network.
The southern prairies see greater than 2,400 hours of sunshine annually, compared to between 1,200 and 2,000 hours in the rest of Canada. It may not seem like it at times, but the prairies typically see some sunshine about 320 days every year.
The vast, open spaces of the northern plains continue to support a rich agricultural economy but, increasingly, that abundant sunshine is being harnessed to backstop a burgeoning solar power industry.