Town Facility Solar Installations
Many of our Town facilities have small scale solar photovoltaic (PV) installations to supplement on-site electricity usage including the Municipal Centre, the Okotoks Art Gallery and the former Okotoks library, which is now occupied by Bow Valley College, Okotoks Campus and Cameron Crossing School. The larger solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are located at the Eco Centre & the Fleet Building and the Viking Rentals Centre (formerly the Centennial Arena).
Eco Centre & Fleet Building
A 508.8 kW DC solar PV system was installed on the rooftops of the Eco-Centre and Fleet Buildings in May 2020. This system supplies electricity to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). This system was installed with over $430,000 in grant funding from the Municipal Climate Change and Action Centre (MCCAC), covering more than 40% of the purchase and installation costs.
During the first three full years of operation (2021-2023), the system installed on the Eco-Centre and Fleet buildings generated close to 1.5 million kWh of electricity. As of the end of 2023, the use of this electricity at the Wastewater Treatment Plant (89%) and the sale of excess electricity (11%) to the electric grid has resulted in a financial benefit of approximately $260,000.
The electricity generated by the Eco-Centre/Fleet Buildings solar PV system as of the end of 2023 has offset over 1,100 tonnes of carbon emissions, which is roughly equivalent to the grid emissions from the electricity use of 230 average Okotokian homes over one year.
Okotoks Centennial Arena
A 424.8 kW DC solar PV system was installed on the rooftop of Viking Rentals Centre (formerly Centennial Arena) in October 2021. This system supplies electricity to the OCA. This system was installed with approximately $166,000 in grant funding from the MCCAC, covering approximately 30% of the purchase and installation costs.
During the first two full years of operation (2022-2023), the system installed at the Viking Rentals Centre generated over 1 million kWh of electricity. As of the end of 2023, the use of this electricity at the arena (91%) and the sale of excess electricity to the electric grid (9%) resulted in a financial benefit of approximately $150,000.
The electricity generated by the Viking Rentals Centre solar PV system to date has already offset nearly 600 tonnes of carbon emissions, which is roughly equivalent to the grid emissions from the electricity use of 125 average Okotokian homes over one year.
Track Okotoks Solar Electricity Production