Starland County sees some positives in the Alberta Government’s solar power announcements last week.
On Friday, February 5, the government announced a $5 million investment, earmarked for the Municipal Climate change Action Centre for a solar power incentive program to support municipalities wishing to adopt the technology.
“We must take action at all levels in combating climate change – federally, provincially and locally. This investment will spur economic growth and help with the transition to cleaner sources of electricity, which will protect our health,” said Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks.
This program will provide a rebate of up to $0.75 per watt, up to $300,000 per project for municipalities to install solar on municipal buildings such as offices, firehalls and community centers.
Starland County has been an early adopter of the technology and CAO Ross Rawlusyk sees some potential projects in the county that could benefit from this program.
These are two good announcements for solar development. The Alberta Municipal Solar Program will provide up to $0.75 / watt as a rebate, and this would effectively cover about a third of the total project cost,” said Rawlusyk. “Larger projects (greater than 150 kw) are eligible for a $0.45/watt rebate.”
“This program is geared towards municipal buildings and Starland County will certainly be applying for some projects like the Craigmyle Water Station or CLV Water Station.”
The government also announced a program for agriculture producers to also take advantage of the technology.
“From the looks of the On-Farm component, the Growing Forward Solar Photovoltaics Program provides $0.45/watt to a maximum of 20% of the total project costs,” said Rawlusyk. “If you do an Energy Assessment, this can increase to $0.60 /watt. The maximum grant available is $50,000.”
Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry sees the benefits of the program.
“Agricultural producers embrace innovation and are good stewards of the land. The solar installation program will help increase farming efficiencies, reduce power bills and greenhouse gas emissions and add to Alberta’s power grid.”
For Rawlusyk, the program will support some of their existing projects.
“The great news for us is that this program is retroactive, going back to April 1, 2013, so our producers that have already installed systems can apply for the funding,” he explains.
The Alberta Municipal Solar Program opens for applications on March 1. The On-Farm Solar Management program’s application window opens on February 8.
“The overall cash available for these programs is limited, so we’ll be applying where we can very quickly,” said Rawlusyk.