Page 52 - DMGT521_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 3: Strategic Management and Project Selection

Notes
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Case Study Green Projects

e discussed the effect that the current economy is having on projects and project
management in an article entitled “Project Management in Tight Times.” In
Wthat article we made the case that although some projects are being put on
hold, others are going forward with increased scrutiny.
Projects that are environmentally “friendly” by virtue of their ability to reduce pollution,
reduce fossil fuel consumption, or some other positive effect on the environment are
definitely among those projects that are going forward. So project managers should increase
their focus and awareness on these areas. These projects have spawned a new vocabulary.
Terms such as “Green Project” and “Green Collar Jobs” are examples. Project managers
should be aware of this shift in focus and add some of the new terms to their resumes to
attract interest. Project management on these projects may demand a slightly different
skill set than on other types of projects though.
Tyler Hamilton, reporting in the Friday, June 19, 2009 edition of the Toronto Star says that
developers of large scale solar farms in Ontario, Canada, are preparing to battle the
provincial government over its restrictions on where solar farms can be placed. Solar
farms are vast areas of solar panels which supply electricity to a power grid. Solar power
companies either lease or buy existing farms to install the panels. The ideal place for these
farms is as close to the power grid as possible. That placement will reduce the length of
transmission lines and reduce the cost of the project. The problem with that strategy is that
government agriculture policy states that farms with class 1, 2, or 3 soils (soils are rated on
a scale with 1 being the highest fertility) are not suitable for purposes other than agriculture.
Averting any farmland that falls into class 1, 2, and 3 would potentially add considerable
cost to any solar farm project.
Solar farm projects are attractive because they fall into the “green” class of project because
they reduce dependency on electricity generated by plants that use fossil fuels. Solar farm
projects are obviously also attractive to the solar power companies that initiate them
because of their ability to generate profit. The increase in infrastructure costs that the
additional transmission lines would have could potentially reduce the profit to the point
that they would incur a loss with a project because their electricity prices must be
competitive with existing sources.
According to Tyler Hamilton’s article in the Star, Ontario’s Energy and Infrastructure
Minister George Smitherman said that rules expected to result from Green Energy and
Green Economy Act would put restrictions on where solar farms could be placed. He said
that farms with class 1, 2, or 3 soil would not qualify for development (including solar
farms) in Ontario. Smitherman believes that there is enough farm land available that
doesn’t fall into class 1, 2, or 3 and that solar farms should not compete for the more fertile
farm land. Some advocacy groups backed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for
Environment Law and Policy are solidly behind this government policy.
The Canadian Solar Industries Association is fighting the policy with its own public
relations campaign on several fronts. They say that they would only be consuming class 1,
2, or 3 farmland at the rate of 0.11% over 20 years. The Association also claims that without
the ability to lease or buy this farmland they would be unable to initiate the large projects
which would bring manufacturers of solar panels and other related industries to the

Contd...

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