b'CARBON NEUTRALA placein the sun By Andrew BrooksB re n t Q u a r r i e s m a ke s t h e m o s t o f s o l a r p owe rT he very nature of a quarry makes it a highly visibleBrent Quarries started out in 1990 on an 80-acre parcel element in the landscape, and the news that a newwhere it mined sand and topsoil. Rock crushing was soon one is coming can often arouse community opposi- added to the repertoire and Brent Quarries began to expand. tion based on environmental and aesthetic concerns.Todayitownsorleasessome2,500acresoflandwith Accordingly, post-use rehabilitation plans for quarryfiveactivelicencesscatteredthroughoutMuskokaLakes, sites have become a cornerstone for the industry, which hasselling dozens of sand, gravel and soil products while also become very environmentally active in recent decades.offering road and bridge construction, haulage and logis-tics, and other services. The company also offers aviation One example is Brent Quarries of Port Carling, Ontario.services from registered aerodromes on three of its sites; its Thecompanyhasestablishedapositiveenvironmentalpresident W. Ron Brent is a flying addict and gets to mix profile by setting up solar farms at three quarry sites onbusiness with pleasure by flying equipment, employees and its home turf in Ontarios Muskoka Lakes Township. Andcustomers to and from the companys sites. despite what you might hear about environmentally positive measures being a net economic cost, in this case the company actually made money before the juice started flowing.W. Ron Brent: an early adopter of solar farming at Brent Quarries in central Ontario'