Editor:
At the March 7 meeting of the District of Sechelt Council, one of the many actions approved related to putting solar cells on the roof of the new Operations Centre. Based on a report from PBX Engineering from Victoria suggesting that it would take 56 years for this investment to pay back its cost, the council decided to only fund some of the conduit for wiring at this time.
There are three reasons why this seems to me to be a serious missed opportunity.
1) The building was designed with a large, flat, south-facing roof specifically to maximize its solar exposure.
2) School District No. 46 (SD46) has recently installed 64kW, 66kW and 105kW PV systems on three Coast schools with payback estimates of only 14 years.
3) While one can always delay purchases hoping that prices will fall, interest charges are a large part of the final price of any purchases financed by borrowing and interest rates are creeping up. In addition, purchasing now would mean that the district starts to save on its hydro right away.
The disparity between the payback estimate and the SD46 payback time suggests that this report is flawed.
I gather that the district is expecting a more relevant estimate from a local PV installer. I hope that the council will consider revisiting their decision and allow Sechelt to lead the Sunshine Coast into a solar future.
James Pawley, Sechelt
