EDMONTON, Jun 29, 2006 -- Canada NewsWire

 

Today, partners and supporters of Climate Change Central's Alberta Solar Municipal Showcase project gathered on the steps of Edmonton's City Hall to hear City of Edmonton Councillor Karen Leibovici, representing the National Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament (Edmonton Centre), representing the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, announce up to $350,000 in funding from the Green Municipal Fund to support the two-year project that will showcase solar energy on 20 municipal buildings across Alberta.

The Government of Canada has endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities with $550 million to establish and manage the Green Municipal Fund. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and improve climate protection.

"The project will feature the installation of 20 one-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on municipal buildings in communities, such as, Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Pincher Creek, Jasper, Drayton Valley, Black Diamond, Westlock, Strathcona County and Starland County," said Councillor Karen Leibovici. "These installations will demonstrate to Alberta homeowners, businesses and municipal governments the technical viability of grid-connected solar PV systems, which are well established elsewhere in the world."

"Through the Green Municipal Fund, the new Government of Canada is demonstrating its commitment to clean land, clean air, clean water and clean energy," said Mr. Hawn. "Municipal governments and their partners are vital as we work together to develop a strategy for renewable and emission free energy and getting these technologies into our communities will help Canadians reduce their energy costs."

Solar PV systems convert the sun's energy into immediately-usable electricity. A one-kilowatt system can supply up to 20 per cent of a typical household's annual electrical needs. The cost of solar panels is still high, but prices are falling as global demand increases and, consequently, manufacturing costs drop.

"This project will help us better understand the long-term potential of this technology and help educate the public about alternatives to a sole reliance on non-renewable sources for our energy needs," says Garth Vallely, Mayor of Medicine Hat, a project co-sponsor and the first municipal government to install one of the solar PV systems.

"The most important part of this project is the opportunity to provide training and public education about solar PV systems in each participating municipality," says Simon Knight, Acting President and CEO of Climate Change Central, which is helping coordinate the project. "This project gives municipal governments the opportunity to influence by example and to showcase a globally-accepted renewable energy technology."

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMD&C) are also project funding supporters.

For more information on the Green Municipal Fund, including details of

other approved projects and studies, visit

http://www.sustainablecommunites.ca 

For information on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, visit

http://www.fcm.ca 

For information on the Alberta Solar Municipal Showcase, visit

http://www.lassothesun.ca 

For information on Climate Change Central, visit

http://www.climatechangecentral.com 

For information on Natural Resources Canada, visit.

http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca 

SOURCE: FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES

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