Photo: District of Summerland

Solar panels are being installed atop the Summerland arts centre, just one part of the district’s larger push into sun power.

The 50-panel array will produce 21,000 kWh per year, about 40 per cent of the building’s annual power bill. A smaller 6,900 kWh array is also being installed on top of municipal hall.

The projects are being funded by $25,000 grant from the North Growth Foundation as well as $30,000 from the district.

“We are really excited to have this opportunity to walk the talk and to show that we feel that solar has a strong business case for individual buildings and not just at a grid scale,” said Tami Rothery, sustainability/alternative energy co-ordinator.

Rothery says plans for the separate federally-funded one-megawatt array and battery bank are proceeding as officials work to determine a location for the project.

The $6M plan will allow the District of Summerland to generate its own electricity. The array will produce one megawatt of electricity a year and provide storage for an additional two megawatts.

The District currently purchases about 93 megawatts of energy from FortisBC a year.