Samsung pulls plug on Flamborough solar farm

Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. has pulled the plug on its proposal to build a 60,000-solar-panel farm in Flamborough after the project failed to get Hamilton city council approval last month. 

The company was hoping to build the Mountsberg solar area, a solar energy farm that would produce enough energy to power as many as 5,000 homes per year.

The project would involve installing large banks of the solar panels, each about three by five feet, on rural properties north of Freelton. The company was negotiating 20-year contracts with "several" landowners to host the panels, said spokesperson Tim Smitheman.

But when council balked at the plan, Smitheman said, the company decided not to submit it for higher provincial review. 

"We've decided to respect the will of council," he said Saturday afternoon. 

• Solar farm or subpar farm land? City has a dilemma over proposed project
• Samsung wants to install 60,000 solar panels in Flamborough

Smitheman said he hopes Samsung can be involved in the city's review of siting for potential green energy projects in the future. 

"In the immediate short term, there will be some short-term construction jobs that won't be coming to Hamilton, so that's unfortunate," he said. But, he said, the company still hopes to bring a renewable project to the city sometime in the future.