Group pushes for City of West Kelowna to utilize solar power

The Glenrosa Residents Association (GRA) will be appearing before West Kelowna City Council to urge them to leverage solar power in the city.

During the May 20 meeting, Dan Goy, GRA president, will be presenting to city council members.

“This year our main focus will be to follow up on the IPA proposal we made last year with more detail, examples and clarity on how the City could be leveraging the benefits of Solar Power in West Kelowna,” Goy said in a statement to local media outlets.

Goy’s presentation will focus on the benefits, revenue and sustainability of solar power in West Kelowna.

Goy said the price of solar technology continues to drop and could allow for the City of West Kelowna to improve operational efficiency and manage energy consumption amid increasing energy demand.

The GRA president added that the revenues generated by solar power for the city is “substantial.”

The GRA’s proposal explores two types of installation. The first is net metering, which is a billing arrangement between electricity providers and their customers that can help to reduce their electricity bills and allows users to generate their own electricity while still connected to the electricity grid.

According to the presentation, the second type of installation is Independent Power Production (IPP), which involves a producer that owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users and makes a revenue.

Goy points to Summerland, which had solar panels installed on its municipal hall and arts and cultural centre in 2020. He also points to Summerland’s IPP solar energy centre, which became operational in November 2023.

The presentation suggests that an IPP facility could be installed on a vacant eight acre property on Butt Road.

“Timing is everything, the current provincial and federal governments are enthusiastic supporters of renewable energy projects,” Goy said. “West Kelowna is well positioned to become a solar energy powerhouse.”

Goy added that the City of West Kelowna should also remove the requirement for having a building permit in place to install solar power, which he claimed can cost upwards to $1,200 on top of the required electrical permit.

Goy’s presentation also calls on the city to ensure its building code requires all new buildings to be “solar ready” to make installation easier.

“This need not be overly complicated or expensive, could be as simple as requiring a chase, conduit or other pathway for conductors/cable from where the electrical entry source to the roof,” Goy’s presentation noted. “Typically, existing roofs are engineered to support solar.”

The presentation will be discussed during the afternoon meeting, which begins at 1:30 pm.