City of Edmonton- Leefield Community League Solar Installation

OVERVIEW

In 2020, the Leefield Community League board pledged to work on reducing C02 emissions and energy consumption by installing a solar panel project on the roof of the Leefield Hall.  The planning stages began in 2020, installation began in 2021 and completion was done in March 2022. 125 solar panels were installed and have now been connected to the grid (52.35 kW DC system size). This system will see an annual production of 60,000 kWh of energy and annual emissions reductions of 35 tCO2e. The Leefield Community League was established in October 1973 and was the first community league to be developed in the Mill Woods area of Edmonton.  The name Leefield comes from a portmanteau of the names of the neighborhoods it represents: Lee Ridge and Richfield.  The Leefield hall was completed in 1982 and volunteer boards have worked hard to maintain this beautiful facility for 40 years.

APPROACH

The Leefield Community League project would not have been possible without generous funding and grants from:

• City of Edmonton – Community League Infrastructure Program
• Government of Alberta – Community Facility Enhancement Program
• Municipal Climate Change Action Centre – Alberta Municipal Solar Program
• Leefield Community League volunteers and fundraising

RESULTS

The system will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 2 average homes, offsetting about 35 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to removing 5 internal combustion engine passenger vehicles driven for a year off the road.

“Our Leefield Community League board is very proud of this project.  Many volunteer hours went into facilitating implementation, construction, grant application and doing all the necessary paperwork and reporting required.  We are thankful for the funding provided by the City of Edmonton, Government of Alberta, and the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre.  We are very happy to modernize our building, reduce energy costs and C02 emissions and serve as an example of environmental responsibility that will hopefully be taken up by more and more community groups!”

Wil Tonowski, President, Leefield Community League & Mill Woods Presidents’ Council