The Town of Okotoks, Enmax and Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) recently completed the installation of a 509 kW Photo Voltaic (PV) solar system, with 1,272 solar panels and 4 inverters, on the Operations Centre's Fleet and ECO Centre roofs. The $1 million dollar project, approved in October 2019, came online on April 29, 2020. A grant from MCCAC will refund over $400,000 of the total purchase and installation costs.
This installation makes the Town a micro generator energy producer, producing 514,600 kWh annually, saving approximately $30,000 in electrical consumption costs. It will reduce the Town's overall greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 400 tonnes, which is equivalent to planting almost 5,000 trees!
"This is an important step forward for sustainability in Okotoks," said Mayor Bill Robertson. "Reducing costs, increasing energy efficiency, and contributing to better air quality is vital in best managing our residents' health and wellness in the coming years, especially as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Robertson.
The majority of the electrical power produced will go towards one of the Town's largest single-source greenhouse gas emitters, the Wastewater Treatment Plant, consuming 2,997,900 kWh annually. The new solar system will produce 15% of the electricity needed to treat the Town's wastewater.
For more information visit okotoks.ca/SustainableFuture.
For more information
5 Elizabeth Street, PO Box 20, Station Main
Okotoks Alberta
Canada T1S 1K1
www.okotoks.ca
