Solar panels increased on Canmore Recreation Centre for additional energy savings

The positive news came via additional funding from the Alberta Municipal Solar Program – run through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre – that helped provide a rebate for the previously approved project.

The project costs will jump from $365,000 to $520,000, but the rebate will pick up the difference.

“I’m really pleased we got the grant we were hoping for and we’ve been able to exponentialize our investment in this particular project,” Councillor Joanna McCallum said. “As we know, there’s various ways to mitigate climate change and reduce our energy bills and make our community more sustainable and it’s certainly something we’ve heard from the electorate they’re interested in seeing happen. As an organization we’ve been able to creep closer and closer to getting many of our public buildings equipped with solar.”

The initial project saw $130,000 come from the Town’s general capital reserve, while the remaining $235,000 was from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative allocation from the province.

The work will significantly help Canmore’s Climate Action Plan by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in municipally owned buildings by 30 per cent as of 2030. The Town also declared a state of climate emergency in 2019.

Kristine Bain, the Town’s facilities project manager said the recreation centre has the largest flat roof of any building in the valley and also one of the higher energy demands, making it “an ideal candidate for rooftop solar.”

Bain added the design has been completed for the layout of the panels, construction started and it's anticipation it will be completed this summer.

The AMSP rebates 30 per cent of eligible costs and has previously been used for projects on Canmore Civic Centre, Elevation Place and the Canmore Waste Management building.

The program wraps up in April 2022, or when all available funds are depleted.

“It’s a good time to add to the project when the project is in progress. … Using the funds for this purpose is beneficial and as we see, the annual energy savings is much increased by this and our buildings are some of the most GHG intensive producers,” Coun. Vi Sandford said.

Under the original project, 600 panels were to be added to generate 270 kilowatts of energy to help offset 14 per cent of the building energy. It would provide between $12,000 and $13,000 in energy savings each year and reduce about 143 tonnes of GHG annually.

The expansion of the project will see 818 panels on the roof for 368.1 kilowatts generated to cover 19 per cent of the building's energy use. The move will give the Town $17,000 to $18,000 in energy savings each year, while also reducing 192 tonnes of GHG annually.

“The Town will be increasing its renewable energy portfolio, decreasing its electrical utility costs and making continued progress towards its climate action plan and greenhouse gas reduction targets,” the report noted.

Bain said there’s still sections of the roof left for additional solar panels and the municipality is also looking at the capacity of the gymnasium to “take full advantage of the roof,” and could add a further 400 panels in the future.

“I’m really happy you’ve been able to work this project forward and bring this recommendation to council. It’s really great work,” Mayor John Borrowman said.

“I’m really impressed with what administration is doing along these lines of solar installation. It’s something that’s so important for our community and admin is doing an amazing job with these projects.”