Inuvik will soon draw on the midnight sun for more of its power use.
A conditional use permit for a new solar powered farm and battery storage facility passed third reading April 10 with unanimous consent from Inuvik Town Council.
The solar farm will be constructed on commissioner’s land north of Gwich’in Road, from Natala Drive to Bompas Street. It will cover roughly 11,075 square metres of land at the location of the old swimming pool, which is currently occupied by an empty Quonset hut occasionally used for storage. The solar field will provide both a backup system in the event of a failure at the diesel power plant and provide ongoing power throughout the summer and shoulder months.
There are no safety issues related to solar panels, and the plan is for the site to be “visually innocuous” — unlikely to interfere with the view for residents along Gwich’in Road.
The solar panels will meet current fire safety standards. The solar arrays will stand two metres high, supported by 134 pilings at 60 metres depth. The battery storage containers will be modified sea containers filled with batteries — essentially stringing together many batteries to make a giant battery. Powerlines built under Bompas Street and Gwich’in Road will carry the energy to the community. The site will be fenced off by a 450-metre barrier that stands 1.8 metres.
“My suspicion is, having lived in the North, having a battery the size of a 20-foot seacan would be helpful to have in the wintertime in case one or both of the current power sources faces an intermission in use due to one reason or another,” said town development officer Peter Scholz during a March 11 committee of the whole meeting, where he described the project. “It’s good to have a back-up.
“The power would be plugged into the Town of Inuvik grid, so the power would be supplement for the whole town,” Scholz added.
He also noted that the development will not interfere with operations of the Inuvik Ski Club.