Summerland Energy Centre

Project Updates

October 2023

Installation has been completed! Solar panels are in, batteries installed, and commissioning is currently underway. A Grand Opening will be announced later this month, in addition to the opportunity to attend a public tour. 

The facility will feed power directly to the grid as well as release stored power as needed to provide resiliency for critical infrastructure and allow for daily ‘peak shaving’ on the purchase price of wholesale power. With work conducted by ATCO, Wildstone Construction and Skyfire Energy, along with other area contractors, the project has been completed on time and on budget. 

Project Details

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. Click here to read the full news release. The award conditions were confirmed as being met in 2019, and a contribution agreement for the funding was signed, securing the grant.

Click Here to view a copy of the Pre-Feasibility Study completed for the project.
Click Here to view a copy of the System Impact & Interconnection Study completed for the project.
Click Here to view a copy of the updated Financial Analysis completed for the project and released by Council in July 2020 (partially redacted).
Click Here to view the cash flow summaries from the Financial Analysis completed for the project and released by Council in July 2020.

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.

Click Here to view documents presented to council regarding the site selection process.

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). 

Copies of the staff report to Council outlining these analyses, as well as the corresponding technical reports are linked below:
Council Report - Solar+Storage Project - Detailed Site Analyses Results
Summerland Solar & Storage Project Environmental Inventory Phase
Summerland Solar Array Geotechnical Engineering Assessment Report
Summerland Solar Array Stage 1 Preliminary Site Investigation
Summerland Solar Array Stage 2 Preliminary Site Investigation

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.   

Click Here to watch the video recording of the July 13, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting
Click Here for the agenda and attachments from the July 13, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting

A large portion of the site has been previously disturbed, including a large paved section with removed trees and foliage. Additionally, leftover materials from previous industrial uses are scattered throughout the site. The project provides an opportunity to remediate these impacts.

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. 

Click here to see the slides presented at the event.

Following the event, a survey about the project was offered to attendees and was also posted online and at Municipal Hall. The results of the surveys can be found by clicking here.

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.

Click here to view the presentation slides, conversation notes and results of the post-event survey.