Solar panels installed on Edmonton community league buildings

Several Edmonton community leagues partnered with the province to harness the power of the sun and reduce utility bills.

Solar panels were added to community league buildings in Belgravia, Riverdale, Evansdale and Queen Alexandra. Ridgewood Community League will install solar panels in the spring.

READ MORE: Alberta announces $36M rebate program for solar panels on homes, businesses 

The province estimates going solar will save the groups between $850 and $3,000 each year. It will also eliminate over 1,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, “the equivalent of taking about 300 passenger vehicles off the road for a year,” the NDP government said in a news release Wednesday.

READ MORE: Notley government to spend at least $9M on solar panels for Alberta schools

Alberta announced a suite of energy efficiency rebates earlier this year. Since then, 120 homes, businesses and non-profit groups have been approved for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

The province said since launching its Alberta Municipal Solar Program in 2016, a dozen public buildings in central and northern Alberta have installed panels and have helped remove 13,100 tonnes of emissions. Those buildings include an aquatics centre in Barrhead, a fire hall in Northern Sunrise County, an affordable housing complex in Valleyview and the Tipple Park Museum in Evansburg.

“Investing in renewable energy diversifies our local economy and improves our community,” Barrhead town councillor Ty Assaf said. “Barrhead’s 149-kilowatt system on the Aquatics Centre will save about $17,000 on electricity bills each year.

“We love our citizens and the environment we live in. We feel a great responsibility to protect it and to support the growing renewable energy industry.”

READ MORE: TransCanada acquires newly built Ottawa-area power plant from Canadian Solar 

On the same day the province and community leagues showed off their solar panels, TransCanada announced it was selling its Ontario solar portfolio.

The deal with Azium Infinity Solar LP includes eight facilities that can generate a total of 76 megawatts. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017.