Summerland Energy Centre

Project Background

In 2016, the District was successful in obtaining grant funding from the Province of British Columbia’s Rural Dividend Program ($100,000) which allowed the District to hire industry experts to provide analysis of the technical and financial feasibility of a local solar energy generation project and to assist with a review of possible locations.

In March 2018, Summerland conditionally received $6,000,000 in grant funding from the Federal Gas Tax Fund in support of Summerland's Solar+Storage Project. The award conditions were confirmed as being met in 2019, and a contribution agreement for the funding was signed, securing the grant.

Following a thorough review of all District-owned property over 0.5 acres in size in consideration of the project site, the District’s former Public Works yard & storage area located at 13500 Prairie Valley Road/12591 Morrow Avenue/Denike Street was approved by Council as the prime potential location for the project.

At the direction of Council, a series of detailed site analyses were completed in order to confirm the suitability of the prime potential location, including: an environmental inventory and environmental site assessment mapping; a geotechnical assessment; a contaminated soils assessment; a preliminary financial analysis; a review for known on-site first nations values; and installation of a solar monitoring station. 

These analyses determined that no significant technical barriers to proceeding with the prime potential site exist that would deem the site infeasible for the purposes of the Solar+Storage Project. Some remediation work required to safely dispose of hazardous materials present on site in a way that minimizes risk to workers and the public was identified, which will be completed as part of the site preparation (construction). 

On July 13, 2020, Council held a public meeting to share information about the project with the community and receive their feedback about the project and the prime potential site. They also received new information regarding land use and a presentation of the detailed analyses outlined above. At this meeting, the site selection process was finalized with Council selecting 13500 Prairie Valley Road/12591 Morrow Avenue/Denike Street as the project site. Staff were directed to proceed with the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction phases of the project, and will begin that work in summer/fall 2020.   

Due to its raised elevation above the surrounding topography, the site is generally not visible from the lower elevation residential and rural areas which surround the site and the visual impacts are considered minor.

One of the potential co-benefits of the project is the addition of amenities for recreational users, such as maps, trail signage, picnic benches, charging stations for e-bikes, informational kiosks, and garbage and recycling bins.

The District of Summerland hosted a Solar+Storage Project Update to inform the community about the project progress to date, introduce the preferred site, answer questions, and receive feedback about the project overall. 

Following the event, a survey about the project was offered to attendees and was also posted online and at Municipal Hall. 

Solar Energy Community Conversation

On February 16, 2017, The District of Summerland hosted its first Solar Energy Community Conversation, exploring the question “What is Summerland’s Future in Solar?”

Over 100 attendees came to listen to presentations regarding the possibilities for solar energy in our community, and to discuss what the future of solar in Summerland could be.

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