Matt Blackman wants Squamish to become a Canadian Solar City.
Blackman, a freelance financial writer and analyst, made a presentation to the community development standing committee at municipal hall on Tuesday.
“Help build a sustainable Squamish through changes in energy,” Blackman said to the committee.
Blackman asked that a motion be adopted to work towards making Squamish a Canadian Solar City, an honour that would be granted by the Canadian Solar Cities Project, a not-for-profit group dedicated to promoting solar technologies.
It would take a $1,000 application fee and the will to do it, Blackman said.
“One thing that the WLNG has done is put significant focus on where we get our energy and I am hoping that it will also motivate council to adopt 10 solar and alternative energy steps to re-energize our alternative energy efforts,” Blackman told The Squamish Chief.
Not only is solar better for the environment than using fossil fuels, it saves money, he said.
“Squamish [could] set an example by establishing a test alternative energy including solar test program on the municipality building to research the effectiveness of the system and create guidelines for businesses and homeowners to follow in implementing their own [alternative] energy programs, most of which will likely be rooftop solar systems,” said Blackman.
Dawson Creek and North Vancouver are already official solar cities.
Some of the 10 requirements of being a Canadian Solar City include the municipality adopting a climate change plan with short and long-term targets, adopting an energy plan for its own facilities and setting targets for a percentage of Squamish’s total energy demand to be met by renewable energy.
Blackman said the goal is to develop a 10-point plan similar to that of the Canadian Solar Cities initiative, but that also includes other forms of alternative sustainable energy.
The mayor and many councillors voiced support for the principle behind Blackman’s proposal. Mayor Patricia Heintzman said that the district was already working on several of the solar city requirements.
“There is definitely a commitment by this council to be proactive and leaders in trying to move the climate issue forward within the district,” said Heintzman. Ultimately, the committee didn’t put forward a motion, but district staff was asked to look into the issue. Councillors Susan Chapelle and Ted Prior volunteered to be part of an informal community taskforce on the issue. Blackman will organize the group and Heinztman said in a few months, when other district taskforces have wrapped up, the community group could be formalized.
After the meeting Blackman was satisfied with how things went.
“I was pleasantly surprised. It would have been nice to get a motion, but I can understand at this point it is probably a little early because a lot of homework has to be done,” he said.
The Squamish Alternative Energy Group can be found on Facebook.
