TRU solar panel project to see 540 solar panels installed by March 2025

Thompson Rivers University is expecting to have 540 solar panels up and running by March of next year, expected to help lower the institution's BC Hydro bill by providing more clean energy to help power the campus.

As part of the $600,000 initial phase of the project, more than 1,000 panels will be installed at TRU over the next five years. Altogether, the project will produce one megawatt of electricity when complete — enough to power nearly 200 homes.

The first panels will be installed on the Campus Activity Centre, the Arts and Education Building and the Industrial Training and Technology Centre.

“We’re moving ahead with those because they're structurally ready to be to go,” said James Gordon, TRU manager of sustainability programs.

It isn’t yet determined where the remaining panels, which will produce 650 kilowatts, will be installed. Gordon said the university has three options.

“The most likely scenario is structures in parking lots just to house solar panels, it'll have the added bonus you won't have snow on your car,” he said.

“The other two options are retrofitting other buildings so they can handle solar panels on the roof or ground mounted, but we haven't made that determination.”

The solar panels will help power the university’s $40-million Low-Carbon District Energy System, currently under construction on campus near Old Main.

The system will use air and water-source heat pumps with the aim of reducing TRU's greenhouse gas emissions by 95 per cent when it’s expected to go online in 2026.

“Because we're going to need all this added electricity producing our own on site, [the solar panels] make a lot of sense," Gordon said.

He said the solar panels will be tied to an electrical grid and will help reduce the cost to purchase clean energy from BC Hydro.

Gordon noted the low maintenance cost of the panels were also appealing compared to other sources of renewable energy.

TRU said some of the project cost is being covered by BC Hydro’s load displacement program, which helps customers looking for generate clean energy.

Solar arrays are already installed on the university’s nursing building and the student union building. Gordon said the panels may be visible to passersby on campus and will be oriented at a slight angle towards the sun.

The first solar panels will begin installation early in January, with completion expected in March. The panels are anticipated to pay for themselves within about 15 years.

TRU’s goal is to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030.