Canadian Public Buildings Receive Federal Funds for Solar Panel Installation

Two public buildings in Greater Victoria located in British Columbia, Canada, will go green with the installation of solar panels. The Federal funding from British Colombia’s Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement will provide $109,000 to Royal Roads and $341,750 to Victoria General Hospital.

The amount will be utilized to finance the solar panel installation over the buildings. The installation of solar panels is anticipated to reduce the spending of the buildings towards electricity and natural gas. The province has signed a conservation agreement with BC Hydro to distribute a total funding of $2.8 million to 9 colleges, 24 schools and 5 hospitals. The other new partners of the agreement include Natural Resources Canada, SolarBC and Terasen Gas. The funding is a result of British Colombia’s attempts to introduce the first carbon free public sector in North America. The province has committed an amount of $75 million during 2008 for this project..

Ida Chong, MLA of Oak Bay-Gordon Head, said that the south Island part of the country gets good sun energy, which can be utilized for generating power. He added that by installing solar panels over the public buildings the benefits of solar energy can be demonstrated and the carbon footprint can be reduced.