Two large new solar panel installations at the Grasshopper Pub in Pender Harbour and the Sechelt Water Resource Centre have the Sunshine Coast Community Solar group excited.
“We’re hoping people will start seeing them and that it will create a bit of a momentum,” said group member Joanna Zilsel, noting the Sechelt system is 15 kilowatts while the Grasshopper Pub installation is 27 kilowatts.
“Alternative Power Systems, a division of Olson Electric, put them both up, and it’s something people should know about,” Zilsel said. “That’s a lot of power on the Coast now, just between those two installations, that’s going to be generated through solar.”
The Sechelt system will be able to generate about 18 megawatt hours a year while the Pender Harbour system could generate over 30 megawatts, according to Scott Elston, of Alternative Power Systems, who said the average home uses between 10 and 16 megawatts of power a year.
Zilsel hopes to see more solar projects take shape on the Coast with the help of the Sunshine Coast Community Solar group, now working on many fronts to advance the alternative energy effort.
The group was created in March after a public meeting brought together more than 150 people interested in solar possibilities on the Coast.
Since then the group has been working to pitch solar projects with the school board, organize a bulk-buy of solar panels for those interested, train members in solar panel installation and secure a large piece of property for a community solar panel project.
Zilsel said School District No. 46 (SD46) has been receptive to the idea of installing solar panels on some SD46 buildings and that more discussion is scheduled to take place later this year.
The community solar group already has a list of about 20 locals who’d like to get in on a bulk-buy of solar panels at wholesale prices, but Zilsel said the group is waiting a week to place the order so more community members can sign up.
In order to help Coasters who want to install those solar panels themselves, the group plans to have some members trained by GabEnergy, a non-profit society on Gabriola Island that teaches people about installation.
“We’re going to have eight to 10 people take a workshop with GabEnergy, and then they will become trainers on the Coast, so that’s really exciting,” Zilsel said.
In a further effort to show the ease of installation and benefit of solar power, the community solar group is currently seeking a large piece of land that could be used to set up a 100-kilowatt solar power project through a cooperative.
“That would be an investment co-op that community members can purchase shares in,” Zilsel said.
The solar group is in the midst of becoming a non-profit society with the end goal of becoming a co-op to advance its plans.
“The non-profit is the easy first step, so that’s something that two members of our steering committee have taken on,” Zilsel noted.
To find out more or to get involved, contact Zilsel at [email protected]
