Calgary Shepard Solar Park Solar PV

OVERVIEW

As part of the MCCAC’s Alberta Municipal Solar Program (AMSP), the City of Calgary installed a total of 4,392 kW of solar PV at the Organic Composting Facility, the project known as Shepard Solar Park. The project was completed in three stages and participated in both AMSP Round 1 and 2. The first phase of 1,080 kW was completed in 2017, the second phase of 2,597 kW was completed in 2019, and the final phase of 714 kW was completed and energized in 2021.

APPROACH

The solar PV array consists of 11,619 solar modules. The project was approved under direction from the Calgary Council approved Climate Resilience Strategy and Action Plan. The project cost was financed over a 15-year agreement where, a portion of the avoided energy and non-energy charges are leveraged to pay financing costs. This means that the City can realize the financial and environmental benefits of the power plant today while spreading the cost of delivering this innovative project over-time.

RESULTS

The system is expected to produce 5,336,678 kWh of electricity per year, enough electricity to power almost 750 average Calgary homes every year while helping avoid the generation of over 3,600 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year (CO2e). Annually, the expanded power plant is anticipated to provide for approximately 1/3 of the electricity needs of the composting facility, helping further “green” Calgary’s green cart program.