Photo: Colin Dacre

A city councillor is hoping to join forces with the Penticton Indian Band to explore the viability of the local governments generating their own renewable energy.

“The city is perfectly positioned to take advantage of renewable energy production, especially for solar, hydro and wind — with the city owning its own utility,” Coun. Julius Bloomfield said Tuesday.

Bloomfield brought a notice of motion forward on the issue to ensure the matter to debated in full at the next council meeting March 5.

The draft 2019 budget has set aside $75,000 to explore power generation possibilities, but Bloomfield said he’d like to see the project fast-tracked.

Penticton hosts a Federation of Canadian Municipalities directors meeting March 12-15, which would present an excellent opportunity to track down funding options, he said.

“I want to get council’s opinion on taking the idea to the Penticton Indian Band to see if they are interested in pursuing any joint-venture ideas regarding renewable energy production in this valley.”

The District of Summerland is currently in the process of finding a home for a $7M solar array there, funded primarily by the federal government.