Squamish CAN celebrated its second annual Squamish Climate Action Day at Cedar Valley Waldorf School on Saturday (Oct. 23) with a Solar Revolution launch party for the two solar water thermal heaters just recently installed on the roof of the school.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches and a short video documentary screening were part of the presentation introducing the community to the new technology that, according to the Squamish CAN energy team, can be widely applied to the whole valley.
"The Squamish CAN energy group is particularly interested in technology that average folks can implement to save on energy consumption and to save on their bills," said Eric Andersen, Squamish CAN energy group member.
"We realized that solar hot water systems are available, and that grant and rebate programs are available, such that this is something virtually any household or building in the valley can explore."
The units collect and convert solar energy into thermal energy for heating the water in the school's hot water tank instead of relying on electricity or gas.
"Most people are heating water in their homes by either natural gas system or electricity, and electricity, if it's hydro electricity, is a renewable form of energy - but not if it's produced by coal fired power plants in Alberta which is the case," explained Andersen.
"We [B.C.] are importing electricity, we're not meeting our needs with own production through hydro dams."
The group approached Squamish Savings with the idea of spreading the word about this technology with an ongoing demonstration and, as part of their proposal, included the idea for a video project collaboration with the Quest University media group who volunteered their efforts.
In addition to a critical $2,300 grant from Squamish Savings, Squamish CAN was also able to apply for some generous rebate programs through SolarBC and the federal-provincial ecoENERGY program. Although the total cost of the two tanks, including HST, came to $14,500, Squamish CAN paid less than $3,000.
"It's a fantastic project for Squamish," said Sameer Kajani, vice chair of Squamish Saving Board of Directors. "I think the CAN is taking a really good position in leading the way and they're setting a good example for the community."
Most homes would require just one tank. The cost, which includes a two-day installation, can vary between $5,000 and $6,500 depending on the design of a house and $2,000 rebates from SolarBC are still available for residential homes.
Homeowners must get their applications into SolarBC before Nov. 15 as the program is set to end Dec. 31.
The units are manufactured in China with some of the technology originally coming from Germany - a country considered to be a leader in solar technology - but the company, Globe Solar Energy Inc., is a Canadian company based in Toronto with its western affiliate Globe Solar Energy (Western) Inc. operating out of Vancouver.
Regional director David Lin told the launch party gathering that over 30 million solar units have already been installed in China.
"In BC now, we have over 50 units installed," said Lin.
He also said SolarBC is looking at extending the rebate program for the next three years.
The school's solar water system is the fourth in the region; it's the second system to be installed in Squamish with two already installed in Garibaldi.
For more information about this initiative and available rebates, please contact squamishcan@gmail.com and they can direct you to the appropriate local representatives.
The video documentary about the Waldorf school solar units will soon be available on the Squamish CAN website and YouTube.
