Here's a Bright Idea...

...Oh, never mind. Here's a recent City press release about a new endeavour on the part of City Hall and Guelph Hydro to develop the solar energy gathering capacity of city sites.

GUELPH, ON, March 1, 2011 – The City is working with Guelph Hydro and its subsidiary Ecotricity to put solar photovoltaic panels on a number of City-owned buildings. During last night’s City Council meeting, the City approved an agreement that defines the terms of Guelph Hydro’s mandate to develop energy projects on City properties.

"Ecotricity already operates the two Megawatt generator at the former Eastview landfill site," says Rob Kerr, the City’s General Manager of Community Energy "Now they’ll have access to our rooftops to generate more clean, renewable energy right here in Guelph."

Together with Guelph Hydro, the City has identified about 50,000 square feet of rooftop space where Ecotricity could install enough solar photovoltaic panels to generate up to 500 kilowatts of electricity. Once the panels are up and operating, Ecotricity would sell the power to the Ontario power grid over the next 20 years under the Ontario Power Authority’s MicroFIT program.

"This licence agreement is just the beginning," adds Kerr. "Together with Guelph Hydro the City of Guelph will continue to seek out more opportunities for energy projects on City-owned properties in order to support the goals of Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative."

About the Community Energy Initiative

Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative is a collective commitment among community members including the City of Guelph, Guelph Hydro, Union Gas, Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the University of Guelph to use less energy in 25 years than we do today; use less energy per capita than comparable Canadian cities; and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions per capita than the current global average.