Solar panels on Green Lake Community Centre. Photo courtesy Village of Green Lake
The Northern Village of Green Lake is officially going green as of today.
The village is flicking the switch today to start generating its own solar power that will go back into the SaskPower grid.
The community installed 96 solar panels on the roof of the community hall this spring.
The project is the community’s first step in an effort to invest in renewable energy in what is hoped to be a larger solar initiative that aims to eventually provide much of the electrical power needs of the village.
“This project has been a wonderful opportunity for our municipality and our community members to be exposed to the positive impact of renewable energy. It is the first renewable energy project in Green Lake but will not be the last,” said Northern Village of Green Lake Mayor, Ric Richardson.
Richardson says the community has been looking at renewable energy alternatives for a few years now because of issues with the power grid. The aging power transmission lines in the northwest part of the province have been susceptible to power failures in the last year.
Richardson says the village is a long ways from the source of the power and there is a lot of distance in between where problems can occur.
He says this project will not be enough to generate enough power for the community, but he says if it is proven that it is an advantage to have it, the village will look at expanding and adding to the system.
“Once we grow it, I think the issue of power reliability will be much stronger by having power generation within the community,” he added.
He says in the future, the village and municipality may look at using some farmland for a solar power farm or use other community buildings for solar panels. Either way, he says it will help reduce costs to the community.
“In the time that we (the Village of Green Lake) put pen to paper on this project, power costs have increased by 8 percent,” said Richardson. “And over the next number of years, I expect to see more increases in power.”
In addition to receiving monies from Bullfrog Power, Canada’s leading green energy provider , Green Lake received funding from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program and a rebate from SaskPower.
In Saskatchewan, Bullfrog Power community projects include solar installations on Saskatoon’s Broadway Theatre and The Two Twenty Building in Saskatoon, as well as a partnership with the First Nations Power Authority.