2021Completion Year
115.2 kWkWInstalled Capacity
$240,964.60Project Cost
$15,079.70Cost Savings
$101,089.38MCCAC Funding
9Simple Payback Period
150,797kWh/yearElectrical Energy Savings
86tonnes CO2e/yearGHG Reductions
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions for this project are calculated based on Alberta’s Carbon Offset Emission Factors Handbook Version 2.0
OVERVIEW
During the summer and fall of 2021, the Village of Longview completed the installation of a new solar PV system on unused land at the Sewage Lagoon. The 256 solar panels generate enough power to offset energy consumption from all municipal operations including at the centennial park, generator building, community hall, sewer station, rest stops, streetlights, and campground – making the Village of Longview now net-zero in its energy consumption.
The new net-zero solar PV installation, a 115.2 kW solar PV system is conservatively estimated to generate 150,797 kWh per year. The system allows the Village of Longview to produce renewable energy, lower their carbon footprint, and lead by example in the community. The system received a rebate through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s Alberta Municipal Solar Program for $101,089.38.
APPROACH
The project was operational on Dec. 11, 2021 and was constructed by Alberta-owned SkyFire Energy at a cost of $240,963.60, with roughly 40 per cent funded by the Alberta Municipal Solar Program (AMSP). Longview’s solar array sits on a quarter-section of land already owned by the Village since 2010, adjacent to the water treatment lagoons.
As development cannot occur within a certain distance of the lagoons, Longview CAO Dale Harrison pointed out, the solar array was a good use of underutilized space. With their homework already done, he hopes to see a larger commercial development in the future to offer solar energy to residents.
RESULTS
The system will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 21 average homes, offsetting about 86 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to removing 24 internal combustion engine passenger vehicles driven for a year off the road.
“The most important aspect would be the financial benefit”
Mayor Rose Klassen
“There’s not much you could actually use the land for, this becomes a static development that actually generates some revenue”
CAO Dale Harrison
Fun Fact!
The project was built to a specification aimed at negating the energy costs of municipal buildings, bringing them to net-zero power consumption.
