Solar farm fire in P.E.I. is out after batteries burned for two weeks: city officials

SUMMERSIDE – A fire at a solar farm in western P.E.I. is out after some battery cells burned, smouldered and flared up for two weeks.

Emergency services in Summerside say the fire started on Sept. 7 at the Sunbank solar farm. 

City officials say they will work with the P.E.I. fire marshal, technical experts and insurance providers to determine  the cause of the fire.

The city says its utility team will start the process of restarting solar power generation, while the farm’s battery infrastructure will remain isolated.

Meanwhile, the provincial Environment Department will continue testing the soil and local water supply.

City officials have said ongoing air quality and water testing hasn’t identified any public health concerns.

On the day the fire started, which was the Labour Day holiday, a shelter-in-place order was issued, as well as a voluntary evacuation notice, and some roads were closed. Two schools were closed the following day.

The shelter-in-place order was quickly downgraded to a voluntary advisory, which was lifted later in the week as the two schools were reopened.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are typically used to store electricity generated by solar panels, can catch fire when damaged by impacts or exposed to water,  according to a 2023 report from the U.S.-based Fire Protection Research Foundation.

Under certain conditions, both types of damage can lead to something called thermal runaway, which occurs when battery cells increase in temperature in an uncontrollable way. The result can be fire or explosion. 

The report says the chemical reaction inside the damaged battery creates flammable gasses that are self-sustaining and resistant to traditional firefighting techniques. In some cases, water can’t reach or cool the reaction. As well, the risk of reignition, toxic gas release and explosion remains high, even after the fire appears to be extinguished.

“As a result, codes and standards … focus on prevention, early detection and containment rather than extinguishment, acknowledging the unique hazards and persistent nature of these fires,” the report says.

When the $69-million solar farm was officially energized in January 2024, the city increased its reliance on renewable energy sources to 62 per cent. 

At the time, the farm’s 48,000 solar panels were producing 21.6 megawatts of solar energy. As well, it has battery capacity rated at 20-megawatt hours.

The farm produces enough energy to supply more than 2,500 homes.

Funding for the project came from the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as a $3.1 million contribution from Samsung Technical Investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2026.

— By Eli Ridder in Fredericton