Eastervale Solar Inc. is developing the 300-megawatt solar project located in the Municipal District of Provost, Alberta.
Eastervale Solar Project
​
​
We are committed to engaging openly with landowners, public stakeholders, government agencies, and members of the local community.
About the Project
Welcome to the Eastervale Solar Project
Eastervale Solar Inc. is developing a 300-megawatt (MWac) solar project located in the Municipal District of Provost No. 52, 10 kilometres southwest of Hughenden, Alberta. The Project encompasses 309 hectares (764 acres) of privately owned cultivated farmland. The Eastervale Project began development in 2022 with land securement, early engineering studies, and environmental field assessments.
​
We are committed to sharing information about the Project and working with the local community to ensure that we receive and understand stakeholder feedback and concerns. We will be reaching out to your by mail, telephone, email and via an open house. Your feedback is important and we encourage community members and stakeholders to participate throughout the development process and to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about the Project – our contact information is included below.
The AUC brochure titled Public Involvement in a Proposed Utility Development can be found in the Project Documents section of this website. More information about the AUC review process including how you can get involved is found here: https://www.auc.ab.ca/have-your-say-about-a-utility-project.
Project Benefits
The Project will have many benefits to the local community and to Alberta including:
Local Employment: During construction, the Project is expected to create up to 300 full-time jobs, creating opportunities for local individuals and Alberta-based businesses. During operations, the Project will provide up to 5 permanent full-time and part-time jobs.
Local Economy: Local businesses will experience increased activity in hospitality, retail, and other service industries during Project development, construction, and operations.
Property Taxes: The Project will pay annual property taxes to the M.D. of Provost resulting in financial benefits to the local communities.
Clean Electricity: Local generation of renewable energy adds to the province’s energy mix providing a long-term, low cost and low carbon energy source. The Project is expected to generate emission-free electricity to power approximately 50,000 Alberta homes.
Project Updates
​We are committed to engaging landowners and potentially affected stakeholders regarding the Project. Consultations with stakeholders was initiated in December 2022 and are ongoing - please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.
Environmental field studies were completed in 2022 and 2023 to assess and mitigate any impacts to wildlife and habitat. The results of the environmental studies informed the Project's planning and development. The Renewable Energy Project Submission was submitted to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas in December 2022 and the AEPA Referral Report was received in June 2023, in which AEPA determined the Eastervale Solar Project poses a low risk to wildlife habitat.
​
The solar power plant application was submitted to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in February 2024 and the AUC issued its Decision on February 19, 2025 in which it determined that approval of the proposed Project's layout was not in the public interest given several aspects of the Project’s design for which the AUC did not consider Project impacts to have been sufficiently mitigated. The AUC's primary concerns were with respect to the Project’s impacts to wetlands, glare impacts to a municipal road located adjacent to the Project, and the concern that ESI’s reclamation security planning did not adequately ensure sufficient funds would be available at the Project’s end of life. The AUC's decision to deny the Project was without prejudice to ESI’s ability to reapply for a project on the same lands.
​
On May 27, 2025, a new application was submitted to the AUC on the same lands and reflects a significantly revised layout and includes updates to technical documentation such as noise and glare studies and environmental assessments including an Environmental Evaluation. Please visit the Project Documents page to view updated documentation.
About Us
Westbridge Renewable Energy Corp.
Westbridge is a publicy-traded renewable energy company listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange with a focus on originating and developing utility-scale solar and energy storage projects to deliver clean electricity to Canadians. The management team behind Westbridge has developed more than 2-gigawatts of renewable energy capacity across Europe and North America, including four utility scale solar PV development projects comprising 985 MW and 300 MW of energy storage for a total of 1,285 MW in progress in Alberta. These projects will support clean energy procurements by government, various industries, and utilities.
Project Schedule
Completed Studies
Environment: desktop and field studies were completed throughout 2022 including:
​
-
Environmental constraints mapping to identify buildable areas of land and avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
-
Desktop wetland delineation and field verification to minimize impacts to wetlands and surface waters.
-
Wildlife surveys including breeding bird, spring and fall bird migration, raptor, burrowing owl, sharp-tailed grouse, and amphibians to mitigate impacts to wildlife.
​​
These studies were compiled into the Eastervale Solar Project Renewable Energy
Report that was submitted to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) in December 2022. AEPA issued a Renewable Energy Wildlife Referral Report in June 2023 with a low overall risk ranking.
Upcoming Project Studies
Historical Resources: The Project received Historical Resources Act approval from Alberta Culture.
Noise: The Project has completed extensive noise mitigation following several iterations of the noise impact assessment. Noise is assessed per the requirements of AUC Rule 012, Noise Control to assess noise for residences within 1.5 km of the Project.
​
Glare: The Project has completed a solar glare hazard assessment to assess potential glare impacts at residences, along roads, and aerodromes if applicable.
Grid Interconnection: An application for system access has been submitted to the Alberta Electric System Operator and various engineering studies are underway to allow the Project to connect to the Grid. The Project is in Stage 3 of the connection process.