Alberta Solar Showcase

Town joins 20 municipalities across Alberta and energizes its 1 kW solar array on the roof of the Early Childhood Development Centre (April 2, 2009)

The Town of Drayton Valley has partnered with 20 municipal organizations across the province to showcase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) or solar electric systems on public buildings as a way to educate citizens of all ages, building operators, inspectors and trades people about alternative technology and help support the long-term viability of renewable energy in Alberta. 

Climate Change Central, supported by the City of Medicine Hat, is managing the Solar Showcase. All participating municipal organizations contribute enough funding to supply and install their own grid-connected PV system. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) supports other aspects of the project through its Green Municipal Fund. These include training, technical support, specifications, promotion, project coordination and reporting.

“As the co-chair of Climate Change Central and MLA for Drayton Valley – Calmar, I am proud to see the Town of Drayton Valley take the initiative to promote alternative forms of energy.” - Diana McQueen

“This was a great opportunity for the Town to become involved in this project,” said Mayor Moe Hamdon, “increasing awareness of renewable forms of energy like solar energy is only the first step in our overall vision of becoming a sustainable community.” 

Climate Change Central’s project leader, Janne Hicklin agrees. “Alberta Solar offered a chance for all participating municipalities to take the first step, and through the project we developed valuable tools and resources for other communities to embark on projects like this too! It’s been a great pleasure to work with Drayton Valley and the other participants in this project. Everyone has shown strong vision and leadership in breaking trail for other communities to follow in their footsteps.”

“The environment is everyone’s concern and it is up to each and everyone of us to ensure that we are doing our part,” said Hamdon. Currently Council and Administration are collectively working on a number of innovative solutions that will ultimately feed into Drayton Valley’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan. “From considerations in the way we have traditionally operated our facilities to encouraging water conservation, the Town is focused on doing our part to help combat climate change.” Hamdon added.

At the centre of this all this remains community involvement. “There is only so much that the Town is able to accomplish, but individually we can all do our part,” said Ryan Edwards, Manager of Sustainability for the Town, “Existing programs such as the bi-weekly blue bag recycling program have already contributed to a reduction in the amount of waste entering our landfill each year,” said Edwards. “Over the next few years there will be a number of greening initiatives that will be coming on board,” Hamdon added.

For additional information on the Alberta Solar project, and to see how this compares with all other participating municipalities, please check out the project website at lassothesun.ca. To find out more on how you can use solar power in house, visit the AUC website. 

Featured article in the Western Review (April 7, 2009).