A staff report shows electricity savings of 44%, among other benefits for the Meridian Centre
Expect to see solar panels on the roof of the Meridian Community Centre in Fonthill.
A staff report shows a cost of over $2-milllion, but 80% covered if federal funding is approved.
Councillor Bob Hildebrandt added they should talk to Hydro One about other ways to reduce power usage. "The nice thing about solar is, solar is DC power coming off the grid. Things like our charging stations and other things are generally DC power that's going into the car chargers. So, if we can divert some of that power into that kind of thing as well, that's another potential savings."
A staff report shows greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 15.4 tons of CO2 annually.
And, there's a staggering amount of electricity to be saved... 44% of hydro use.
Mayor Marvin Junkin noted another way of measuring savings, after consultations with people who know. "The installation is the equivalent of reducing our CO output to planting 85-hundred trees. So, that is substantial over the lifetime of the area... not that I'm going to plant 85-hundred trees."
Councillor Bob Hildebrandt added solar panels produce most energy in summer, during highest energy bill times.