With all the new funding opportunities we’ve launched in the first few months of the year, we hadn’t really had a chance to look back on 2021 until recently. Now that we have had a breather, it’s time to reflect on the progress we’ve made.
As you may know, construction was surprisingly busy throughout the pandemic. It was no different in the solar industry, and we were happy to help dozens of projects get built across the province.
Notable projects
For instance, the City of St. Albert finished installing 2,582 solar modules on Servus Credit Union Place. With a total capacity of 1.1 MW, this is now the largest solar electricity installation in the city—enough to offset a sixth of the recreation facility’s energy needs.
The Village of Longview’s 115 kW solar installation is much smaller, but it’s enough to offset the entire village’s municipal energy needs including the park, community hall, sewer station, streetlights, and campground. In case you’re counting, that means the Village of Longview is net zero!
With dozens of projects in towns big and small, we estimate that the Alberta Municipal Solar Program and Solar for Schools Program created 43 jobs in the solar industry, by virtue of the $5.2 million investment in solar panels that we helped catalyze.
Students leading the way
Speaking of Solar for Schools, the Lacombe Composite High School’s Roofs 4 Kids is the smallest project we funded but it might have the biggest heart. Students spent years turning a sea can into a barn with a living rooftop featuring local and medicinal plants, 4 goats, and now solar panels. It is all used to teach children about environmentally-friendly living.
There are much bigger solar projects on the horizon that we can look forward to seeing progress in 2022. The winners of the Municipal Community Generation Challenge have been laying the groundwork throughout the pandemic and we can expect to see them break ground this summer.
And that’s just solar! There is much more to share on the energy efficiency, electric vehicles and climate adaptation fronts. Download our 2021 Impact Report and stay tuned for our next blog post to learn more.
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