Go solar

Times Contributor    

 

Councillor Ben Armstrong attended a conference where Dr. Gordon Howell discussed how solar energy can be used to power commercial buildings.  See www.greenenergyfutures.ca for solar information.

“I was impressed with the comments that were made and would like to know if council would consider solar power for this building,” asked Armstrong.

He said Howell indicated the price ran about $8,000-$9,000 for an average home, but would be more for a commercial building. Armstrong indicated there had been advances in the technology over the years and that there were new shingling products that collected solar energy and fed into solar systems. The bonus was that the solar energy is more efficient, especially if the building is not in use 24 hours per day. Armstrong felt the system would pay for the initial investment, becoming self-generating and removing the County building from costs required by public energy providers.

Council agreed to have staff to look into the costs and report back.