Green power vs. green space: In Kawartha Lakes, a solar project is proposed on one of the world’s rarest habitats

There are few places in the world like the Carden Alvar. 

An ecosystem equal parts harsh and beautiful, alvars are unique habitats that form atop gigantic plates of limestone bedrock. 

The plants, shrubs and grasses hardy enough to coil their roots into the wafer thin topsoil create a biome so rare, it is only found in a small number of places outside the Great Lakes Basin.

According to the Couchiching Conservancy, which has worked with other naturalist organizations to preserve more than 15,000 acres of land in the area, these alvar habitats east of Orillia and northwest of Lindsay are among the most valuable in the province. Supporting a rich biodiversity of plant and bird species, many of them at risk, experts agree alvars must be a top priority for protection.  

This valuable natural asset in the Kawartha Lakes is now at risk. 

Innergex, a renewable energy company, is trying to earn council support in the City of Kawartha Lakes to construct a massive solar energy project across more than 700 hectares of land in the heart of the alvar. 

The company is moving quickly to meet a deadline with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which is reviewing project proposals that could be green-lit to meet Ontario’s future energy demand. An Innergex official admitted to councillors during a September 9 City of Kawartha Lakes council meeting that the team did not truly understand the significance of the alvar, or the opposition the proposal would spark; and there is currently no plan for how to remediate damage to the alvar—if it is even possible. 

Dorthea Hangaard, executive director of the Couchiching Conservancy, explained to councillors during the meeting that they are “uniquely blessed” to have the Carden Alvar within their region.  

She expressed fear that the project is being rushed through to meet a deadline with Innergex, not truly understanding the long-term impacts. 

“We were alarmed that this company was so far along in its planning, but knew so little about alvar,” Hangaard said

“The Couchiching Conservancy supports the transition to renewable energy, but not at the cost of such high biodiversity.”

According to information Innergex shared during a public open house in June, the company is responsible for decommissioning the solar panels and other equipment and “the project area will be returned to the same condition that existed before construction has been developed.” 

But the company has no idea how it will do that. 

Thomas Dean, the director of development for Innergex admitted during the September 9 council meeting, “there is no clear, cheap way to remediate alvars”, and when asked by a local councillor about the state of a remediation plan to fix any damage after the life of the project—estimated to last approximately 35 to 40 years—Dean said, “It’s not anywhere, quite frankly.”

This means, when the request for support returns to council tomorrow, September 23, local officials will be asked to give their blessing for the industrialization of an internationally-recognized ecosystem without knowing the true extent of any damage it may cause or whether it will be able to be remediated after Innegex is done with the land.

The Carden Alvar is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike (top), an endangered species. Habitat loss and fragmentation is one of the key threats to the survival of this species. The golden-winged warbler (threatened) also relies on the alvar for feeding and habitat.

(Jim Richards)

Dean told The Pointer that because the project is in such early stages “a remediation plan and detailed environmental studies have not yet been produced” but one would be required as part of a future agreement with the IESO should the Innergex application be successful. The necessary municipal, provincial and federal permits would also be required. 

An analysis of the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre shows at least 28 species at risk—6 endangered, 7 threatened and 15 of special concern—have been spotted in the area over the last six months, meaning federal and provincial permits under species at risk legislation will more than likely be required.

This could be a difficult hill to climb for Innergex. The proposal, which will fence off hundreds of acres of land and add several kilometers of new roadways, will cause intense habitat fragmentation. 

Recovery strategies or assessments for the endangered species found on the Carden Alvar, including the loggerhead shrike, Blanding’s turtle, red-headed woodpecker, cerulean warbler and the Henslow’s sparrow, all point to habitat loss and fragmentation as key threats to the survival of the species. The Government of Canada’s Species at Risk registry warns:

“Suitable Henslow’s sparrow habitat is lost through the conversion of grasslands and pastures to grow crops. It is also lost with the intensive use of land that leaves very little area undisturbed for periods of time. In addition, drainage of wetlands and wet grasslands, successional change to woodland and shrubland where fires are suppressed, and encroaching urbanization, all contribute to the loss of this species’ habitat.”

The Innergex proposal checks many of these boxes. 

The site chosen by Innergex overlaps with many environmental features, including the Carden Alvar, which environmental advocates have worked for decades to protect.

(Couchiching Conservancy)

A further public open house hosted by Innergex to inform residents about the project was held in August, which was attended by over 100 residents, in the middle of summer. A petition opposing the project has garnered more than 930 signatures. 

“It’s a very rushed proposal,” Jean Iron, a prominent ornithologist who has been a regular visitor to the alvar for the last three decades, told The Pointer. “It’s one area where agriculture, where farming, where ranching and nature support each other; where they’re not in conflict.”

If council grants the request, and provides what is known as a Municipal Resolution in Support of Proposal Submission, it does not mean the project is officially approved. Innergex must then submit to the IESO by October 16 and the regulator will then choose which projects to support. If Innergex is one of the successful proponents it will be required to conduct further detailed studies in order to receive approvals under the Planning Act, Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments. 

Prairie smoke, a flower in the rose family, is a species iconic to alvars and draws crowds to Carden during its typical May to June blooming season.

(Jim Richards) 

A staff report going before councillors tomorrow explains the project encompasses approximately 749 hectares of land with nearly half of it (311 hectares) being fenced in and 117 hectares covered in solar panels. If the project is approved by the IESO (which is dependent on municipal approval first), Innergex plans to begin construction in 2028 and be operational by 2029. At that time, a community benefits agreement would be in place that would provide the City of Kawartha Lakes with approximately $200,000 annually. 

Dean also told The Pointer Innergex has held three meetings with conservancy groups “who are directly involved in stewardship of the region’s biodiversity”. 

“As part of our approach, Innergex is proposing to contribute annual funding—calculated on a per-megawatt basis and tied to project size—to support conservation and land-acquisition efforts led by these conservancy groups.”

“We recognize the importance of aligning clean energy development with meaningful environmental protection and community values. Please be assured that we take our environmental commitments seriously and are committed to making decisions that reflect our responsibility to both people and the planet.”

Experts have said any monetary benefit would be dwarfed by what is lost by harming the valuable natural assets in the area. 

“If you calculated the value of the ecosystem services on these lands, the value of the carbon storage, sequestration, air quality control, water improvement, stormwater management and not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars coming from tourism every year because these lands are what people come to see, these animals are what people come to see,” Dale Leadbeater, a local resident, retired environmental consultant and botanist, stressed, describing the project as “premature”. 

The proposal has ignited widespread opposition from prominent environment organizations and experts. 

“The Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) whole-heartedly supports the responsible production of renewable energy, but careful consideration needs to be given on choosing a suitable location,” OFO Vice President Mark Peck, wrote in a letter sent to City of Kawartha Lakes councillors. It was one of over 40 pieces of correspondence received about the project during the September 9 meeting. “The site under consideration is an area of high quality alvar that will be irreparably damaged by the installation of a large solar farm. This site should be a non-starter for any kind of development.”

Jim Richards, a nationally renowned ornithologist who has received the Order of Canada for his contributions to protecting Ontario’s valuable ecosystems, was shocked when he first heard about the Innergex proposal. He visits the alvar several times a year for the unique birding it provides. 

“On behalf of my entire family, including children, grandchildren and one great grandchild, I implore you to work with Innergex and designate an alternate site and not destroy this pristine jewel,” he wrote in a letter to council. 

“As elected members, you hold the power to make wise decisions that would allow industry and nature to exist side by side in harmony. Please exhibit the needed leadership and do the right thing.”

Along with potentially being constructed in the heart of the alvar, the area also contains significant woodlands, unevaluated wetlands, significant wildlife habitat and is near Carden Alvar Provincial Park; Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park and several other areas protected by the Couchiching Conservancy. 

According to Dean, Innergex did consider other locations for the project within the Kawartha Lakes, but was met with barriers, including surrounding land zoned as prime agricultural—the IESO does not support projects proposed on these lands—or landowners unwilling to lease their land for such a purpose. 

From the current location, depending on which parcels of land would be used to host the solar panels, a transmission line between four and seven kilometres would be needed to connect the system to the Ontario energy grid.

Under questioning from local councillor Dan Joyce, whose ward includes the Carden Alvar, Hangaard was asked, “if not there, then where would you propose?”

She said there are many suitable locations outside the alvar that could house such a project. 

“There are huge cement footprints all over Ontario that are just sitting dormant that could be used,” she said. 

Hangaard also told councillors that she has spoken with representatives in the past who have changed their minds about building projects in the area due to the environmental constraints. 

“There have been other proponents who have come to us in the past and said, ‘just from the get-go we’re consulting with you, and where should we not put this?’ And we have told them where not to put it and they’ve gone away and we haven’t heard from them again.”

Joyce did not respond to follow-up questions from The Pointer. 

The City of Kawartha Lakes Environment Advisory Committee—which recommended council deny the Innergex request—pointed out there would be severe impacts to the alvar from such a proposal, which are summarized in the staff report:

• Severe habitat loss/fragmentation for Species at Risk;
• Elimination of critical breeding areas for grassland and shrubland species; 
• Soil/hydrology disruption that would alter alvar flood-drought cycles, irreversibly degrading vegetation; 
• Construction disturbance, roads, fencing causing nest failure, wildlife mortality, and wildlife movement barriers;
• Vegetation management and introduction of invasive species through disturbance will further reduce habitat quality;
• Cumulative impact would be a loss of Ontario’s Alvar species stronghold and biodiversity hotspot.

According to Dean with Innergex, the company is currently working with environmental specialists on fieldwork to inform the future creation of “strategies to avoid, limit and/or mitigate the effect a solar facility could have on key natural heritage features, where possible.”

The results of this work are expected early next month, but the deadline for submission is October 16. 

Innergex has also been in consultation with the local First Nations whose treaty lands are included in the prospective location, including the Chippewa and Michi Saagiig communities—signatories to the Williams Treaty. 

“We have committed to ongoing communication with the Nations and have gathered feedback from several Nations about the proper governance and communication channels that should be employed should the project be awarded,” Dean told The Pointer. “Innergex is engaged in ongoing dialogue with Minogi, the economic development corporation of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), about project co-ownership with MSIFN and potentially other First Nations, which would allow for sharing of equity and benefits should the facility proceed.”

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