City of Airdrie Transit and Maintenance Facility Solar PV

OVERVIEW

Following the completion of what was at the time Canada’s largest rooftop solar PV system on the roof of Genesis Place, the City of Airdrie has now completed its second rooftop solar installation on top of Airdrie’s new Transit facility. The 409.6 kW system consists of 1,024 solar panels and is projected to generate 410,624 kWh of electricity per year, saving the municipality approximately $41,062.40 on energy costs. The municipality worked hard to secure a funding from a wide range of sources for this project which in the end received a $245,760 rebate through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s Alberta Municipal Solar Program, as well as $100,240 through the Federal Gas Tax Fund, and $696,000 under Alberta’s Green Transit Incentives Program (GreenTRIP), combining to cover the entire costs of the project. 

APPROACH

The project moved quickly once securing funds in late 2020, with the project reaching completion later in the winter of 2021 and completing all verification requirements by the spring. Given that the municipality already developed processes and relationships with vendors during the construction of the Genesis Place project, the completion of this solar PV system was fairly streamlined.

RESULTS

The project is expected to reduce the municipality’s emissions by 234.06 tonnes of CO2e per year, the equivalent of 65 passenger vehicles from the road.

“Airdrie is proud to be a leader in solar infrastructure in Canadian municipalities. This project aligns with our sustainability plan and shows what we can accomplish when different levels of government work together with forward-thinking organizations.”

Peter Brown, Mayor