ST. PAUL – The Windsor Salt Plant, that once provided a sizeable income to the County of St. Paul through tax revenue before it was shut down, is viable for repurposing, which could potentially restore lost revenue for the County.
In February 2025, the STEP Alliance started Phase 1 of studying the viability of repurposing the plant with GHD Engineering. The feasibility study is a $70,000 project, funded through a 50/50 matching grant between the County of St. Paul and the province’s Northern and Regional Economic Development Program.
STEP is a regional partnership between the County of St. Paul, Town of St. Paul, Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay to manage economic development opportunities and growth in the St. Paul region.
On June 17, STEP received the draft study recommendations from GHD Engineering for review.
Linda Sallstrom, Economic Development Officer (EDO) of the STEP Alliance, said the draft indicates 19 potential industries the plant could be repurposed to, including a small or a mid-sized data center, or a hydrogen or ammonia production facility.
“It doesn't mean that we wouldn't invite anything or entertain any other conversation. It just means that there's a high . . . likelihood of success,” to repurposing the plant, she told Lakeland This Week.
Sallstrom explained that Morton Salt, which owns the plant, has a reclamation and decommissioning plan filed with the Government of Alberta. “They would like to exit the property,” because the infrastructure is costing the company money, explained Sallstrom.
Currently, Morton Salt pays the County of St. Paul taxes for its remaining assets at the plant, including machinery and equipment, water treatment, pipelines, etc., said Sallstrom. When the plant is completely decommissioned, the County will lose all tax revenue from the plant.
Sallstrom said Morton Salt would like to sell the plant, “But no one’s really interested in buying it,” she said.
So, the County conducted a feasibility study to determine if it could be repurposed to attract potential investors to transform the facility.
Sallstrom said the $70,000 is an investment from the County to study something that could potentially bring in more tax revenue in the future.
During the June 23 County of St. Paul council meeting, STEP requested council to approve access to the rest of the $35,000 funding to start the Phase 2 of the study, which would involve a deeper technical and economic analysis of repurposing the plant, as well as a marketing plan to attract investors to buy and repurpose the plant.
Coun. Darrell Younghans acknowledged there are challenges to repurposing the plant, including reclamation due to its past nature as a salt plant, but he believes there is potential for the plant to be a “golden egg” again for the County.
Reeve Glen Ockerman said, “That’s what we’re trying to pin down . . . something marketable.”
Younghans expressed particular interest in potentially repurposing the plant into a data centre. “We’re hearing so many data centres that are going up," he said.
After some more discussion, Coun. Dale Hedrick motioned to approve STEP access to the remaining $35,000 to conduct Phase 2 of the study. The motion passed.
