The Town of Fort Frances could see the development of a solar farm and cryptocurrency mining at the former mill lagoon property. The proposal will be the subject of a public meeting, to be held virtually on April 11 at 5:30 p.m.
The current zoning of the parcel of land north of 8th Street West and east of McIrvine Road is waste disposal industrial, and the property owners are requesting that the town approves site-specific amendments to be used for industrial large scale computing. The company – a subsidiary of Riverside Development – would utilize sea cans or shipping containers, converted to buildings, and a constructed structure to house the industrial scale computing equipment. The applicant has requested a rezoning to allow for the establishment of a 150 MW solar farm to produce solar energy and/or feed into the electrical grid.
The zoning application was submitted by 2670568 Ontario Limited, the subsidiary of Riversedge Developments which purchased the mill property from Resolute in 2019. The numbered company filed the application on Feb. 25 to add site-specific uses to the current zoning before council. The holder of the mortgages or charges of the land is listed on the application as Brothers Marketing Inc, which shares a PO Box with the numbered company. Paul Veldman, Managing Partner of BMI Group, is listed as the contact for the numbered company.
Cody Vangel, chief building official, municipal planner and transportation superintendent, said the solar farm will use solar to generate energy. It could take two years to complete the construction of the solar farm. Cryptomining could be done a lot sooner, he added.
The crypto mining component, Vangel said from what he understands, will include complex computer servers that solve mathematical equations and algorithms.
“And by doing so they’re rewarded with cryptocurrency of some sort,” Vangel said.
Vangel said the Committee of Adjustment recommended the approval of the specific permitted uses, under the condition that a noise mitigation study regarding cryptocurrency mining be provided to council.
Mitch Lepage, BMI Group general manager, said the application has an estimated 105 decibels for crypto mining. An example of this sound intensity is similar to a close by helicopter or loud drumming.
However, Lepage said based on real life measurements, they are estimating 70 decibels. An example of 75 decibel sound is a busy restaurant at lunchtime.
“[This] is significantly better or less noisy,” Lepage said. “We’ll have to see, based on where our installation is, what the town requirement is, as far as noise level, and if we can mitigate it. We would mitigate the noise as required by the site plan requirements. The level of noise would be mitigated to the town’s requirement.”
Joerg Ruppenstein, president of the Fort Frances Power Corporation (FFPC), said he does not have any concerns from an electrical standpoint.
He said the solar field will be similar to the one west of the district, only six times bigger.
“It would potentially have battery storage to store all that energy, as well as industrial computing,” Ruppenstein said. “This is basically racks and racks of computers that could be used for computing applications.”
Besides the job creating opportunity, Ruppenstein said, the solar farm helps the town in becoming an energy self-sufficient community.
“From an electrical sense, the power corporation is working on the concept of, in the future, being able to hopefully power our community from the generation within our community,” Ruppenstein said. “If that power line ever failed, we as a community could still operate. Having an installation like this is one of the fundamental building blocks that could enable that.”
Ruppenstein also said this opportunity aligns with their mission. He explained that in 2018, they developed a strategic plan to have the FFPC become more involved in economic development.
“Since that time, we’ve been working hard trying to help the community grow with electricity,” he added. “We have a lot of great things to offer here in Fort Frances. As far as electricity goes, we’ve got among the lowest rates in all of Ontario. We would be the perfect host for businesses that require a lot of electricity or energy as part of their business model.”
As for the lagoon, it will remain intact, Vangel said, because they would need a decommissioning plan to be approved by the Ministry of Environment.
Lepage said the lagoon will remain as is until they complete the closure plan and determine the recommendations from the ministry.
“It has its own closure requirements. It’s got all kinds of environmental regulations that surround it on its own,” Lepage said. “We are evaluating what that requirement did with a consulting agency. Until we have all the documents, it will be what it is.”
Residents are invited to offer their feedback on the proposal at a virtual public meeting on April 11, during the Committee of the Whole meeting. The meeting will allow all interested parties to provide comments, identify issues or provide additional information. Individuals may submit a written or verbal presentation at the meeting. Those wishing to speak at the meeting are asked to contact the clerk in advance. A link to the meeting will be at the top of the Committee of the Whole Meeting agenda. Those wishing to participate by phone can call 1-807-701-5975 and enter Conference ID 863 617 829#.
For more information about this project, contact the Municipal Planner at 807-274-9893 ext 1312 or e-mail cvangel@fortfrances.com.
