07 - Dan Tocher

Dan Tocher, Vice President Stakeholder Relations for Greengate Power, has worked on some of the largest renewable energy projects in Canada. He walks Chad Hughes through his career and the skills that have assisted him in becoming a leader in his field, and how he deployed these skills in acquiring the access required for the Travers Solar Project.

Dan Tocher grew up in Guelph, Ontario and it wasn’t until he moved to Alberta in 2005 when someone offhandedly said to him “you should be a land man” that he looked into what that meant and started his current career. Now, working with Greengate Power, he has successfully negotiated land agreements for some of the largest renewable energy projects in Canada, including the Blackspring Ridge Wind Project and the Travers Solar Project. Dan attributes part of his success to “The approach of extreme patience and extreme respect as I’m approaching people about, oftentimes ...the first-time people have ever heard of renewable energy.”

Chad Hughes and Dan delve deep into the process of the Travers Solar Project specifically - a massive 450-megawatt project that would come to encompass 1.3 million solar panels, 3680 acres, and 13 land owners by the time it neared completion. Dan explains that he used a different approach on that project - instead of meeting with landowners individually, he facilitated their request to have everyone in the same room at the same time and that strategy worked well. He maintains that consistent, respectful relationships and communication are key to success.

“Everybody is different and everybody has their strengths and weaknesses and I developed a set of skills, a unique set of skills, in dealing with people early on in life.” - Dan Tocher

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Blackspring Ridge Wind Project
• Travers Solar Project
• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
• Virtual Power Purchase Agreement

About Dan Tocher

Daniel Tocher has led the land negotiations, stakeholder and community relations, and complex, regulated stakeholder consultation of 1418Mw's (approx. $2B) for all of Greengate’s Wind and Solar Projects in Western Canada since 2008, which includes 2 of the largest Wind and Solar projects in Canada. Dan's strengths are his exceptional leadership and communication skills, as well as his ability to build genuine relationships within the communities where Greengate’s projects are operating.