Town looks for way to reduce power consumption

In the future, the Agrena, the Curling rink and the new Aquatic Centre could all be powered, at least in part, by solar power.

At least that is what Barrhead town councillors hope after they unanimously voted to submit a letter of interest to the provincial government funding for a solar power project for the town’s major recreation facilities during their meeting on Jan. 24.

The vote followed a presentation from Dominic Ries, Clark Builders sustainable innovation manager, about the feasibility of a rooftop solar power installation on the Barrhead Agrena, the new aquatic centre or both.

Clark Builders is the project manager for the aquatic centre.

“We have an opportunity with a new building to consider green energy options for a facility that typically uses a lot of power,” he said, adding solar power would be a better fit than wind generators.

Ries also noted that currently the province is offering financial incentives, in the form of grants, for municipalities and other large institutions to convert to green energy for their larger buildings that consume more electricity.

“There is still a lot of money available for these types of grant applications from the government,” he said, adding the province in the next grant application cycle has set aside $5 million. To be eligible for this funding, the municipality had to submit a letter of interest by Feb. 1.

In a preliminary report to council on Jan. 17, Clark Builders estimated 100,000 watts could be generated from a solar rooftop installation on what Ries calls the island, the — Agrena, aquatic centre and the curling rink. Although the solar panels would only be installed on either the Agrena or the aquatic centre, it would be possible for the curling rink, depending on how the panels were installed, to draw power.

However, after physically inspecting the aquatic centre roof and inputting the data into a special software package, which helps design solar panel installation patterns, they have revised the estimate to 54,600 watts. As a result, the cost of the installation also decreased from more than $300,000 to about $155,000.

After standard rebates or provincial grants, the price would drop to just under $123,000.

If the town is interested, Clark Builders also noted they could implement similar installations on the north and south roof of the Agrena generating an additional 167,000 watts on each side for a total cost of $602,640 after standard rebates are applied.

“Being the builder of record of the aquatic centre we have an opportunity,” Ries said, over other companies who may have approached the town with similar projects. “Because of the Feb. 1 deadline and we have a vested interest in the actual roof and can do the work without voiding any warranties.”

Ries also noted the work could be done in stages.

“It doesn’t have to be today. As long as we have the infrastructure in place and space, one portion could be done now and another a year from now as funding is approved,” he said.

Mayor Gerry St. Pierre asked if the work was done in stages if electricity could still be accessed by any of the buildings on the island.

“If you just did the aquatic centre, you would still have power immediately,” Ries said, adding that the aquatic centre, Agrena and curling rink could all be connected and draw electricity.

Coun. Leslie Penny asked, in addition to power, if the system could also be used to heat water.

Ries said that would require a different and additional system.

“There is an opportunity to install a system on the curling rink that would heat the pool water,” he said, but added having two different systems complicates engineering.

Coun. Roy Ulmer asked if the town installed the entire project if any electricity could be stored for a time when there wasn’t enough sun.

Ries said not really, adding how the system would work is that it would be tied into the province’s electrical grid and in times when excess power is generated it could be sold back to the grid and could take power in times of need.

“We are not replacing the entire power system for the building (aquatic centre), but we are looking at a 48 per cent (with the aquatic centre’s panels) reduction in the amount needed to run the building. It is a bit of a guess. It all depends on the programming and how busy it will be,” he said, adding in most cases it takes between 12 to 15 years to recoup the initial investment. “But that all depends on the power company and what they are charging per kilowatt hour.”

Ries added, if the town opted for the full package with panels on both slopes of the Agrena roof it would allow for greater flexibility and potential savings.

“At times when you are using more power (at the Agrena), say when you are making ice, you could funnel more power there,” he said. “At the times, in the summer when it is mostly sitting empty, you could use it to further offset the consumption at the aquatic centre or even sell some electricity back to the grid. It all depends on what you decide are your power needs at the time.”

Coun. Ty Assaf concluded discussion moving to accept the presentation and make a solar power application to the province.

“I think this is a prime time to start looking at ways to reduce the costs of the aquatic centre and possibly the Agrena. This has been a thorn for us in the past and any opportunity we have to look at reducing our power grid consumption should be looked at and now is a good time with the construction of the aquatic centre.”