Solar energy works in any climate and the fuel—sunshine—is free!

Heather MacKenzie was excited about the power of solar, so in 2016 when the Province began offering incentives, she and her husband approached their church and proposed installing solar panels on its roof.

They started fundraising and soon found “there was plenty of enthusiasm for the installing solar, and likity-split we installed solar on the church.”

Little did Heather know that solar was about to become a big part of her life.

More Solar, Please

After Heather was bitten by the solar bug, she was determined to put solar panels on her home. Around that time, the City of Edmonton announced they were going to transform the old municipal airport lands into a carbon neutral community called Blatchford.

Since stopping urban sprawl was really important to Heather, she and her family bought one of the first homes in Blatchford. Part of the appeal was Blatchford’s vision of being a carbon neutral community.

Thanks to Blatchford’s district energy sharing system, Heather figured a solar powered home was in order. “We can put solar on our roof and then not only will our heat be coming from a renewable energy source, but also all of our appliances and energy use in the home can be renewable.”

They were one of the first homeowners to install solar in Blatchford. Since then, solar has taken off in their neighbourhood.

Heather has also discovered that solar makes “a big difference in how we think about energy usage. We try to use energy during the day when our solar system is producing energy.” Her family washes clothes and charges their electric car when the sun is shining. This reduces the need to buy electricity from the power grid, which is not all renewable.

Solar City

The first solar panels were installed in Edmonton in 1995 on the house of solar advocate Gordon Howell. Howell’s solar system cost 20 times what it would today.

By 2010 there were still only 15 solar systems in Edmonton. Since then, that number has exploded to over 2,500 solar systems.

Heather’s one of the over 2,500 Edmontonians who are building the culture, and feeding into the local solar boom.

Her early fascination with solar got her reading and attending seminars, learning enough about solar to eventually land a job as the executive director of Solar Alberta, a non-profit society.

“Solar's really taking off in Alberta. We have the second highest solar generating potential in the country—second, only to Saskatchewan,” she says.

Edmonton, in particular, has amazing solar potential with 1,245 kWh produced per kW of installed solar. In other words, we get a lot of sunshine and can produce a lot of renewable electricity.

Not to mention, solar isn’t just for homes.

Solar arrays are popping up all across the city on various types of buildings—commercial buildings, community leagues, pools, fire halls—and more!

Photo of solar on (clockwise from top left) the Edmonton Convention Centre, a firehall, the Edmonton Expo Centre and a community league building.

Key to Reducing Emissions

Solar energy is sustainable and doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The City of Edmonton has committed to an Energy Transition Strategy,” says Heather. Of course, reducing emissions from buildings, vehicles and industry are all part of that. Solar can help reduce emissions in all those areas.”

“The City also wants to get 10 percent of the electricity used in the City to come from locally-based renewable energy,” says Heather. “Of course, that is code for solar!”

Thinking about going solar?

“These days solar makes sense for any homeowner or business that has good roof space,” says Heather. With federal solar rebates and interest-free financing your solar system will pay for itself quickly and provide free electricity for more than half of the 25-year warranty life of the solar modules.

“The first thing I would do is get three quotes from reputable solar installers,” says Heather. You can find information on how to get started and choosing a solar provider on the City’s Change for Climate website.

Changing For Climate is a series featuring everyday Edmontonians, businesses and organizations who are actively Changing for Climate—and getting us closer to our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

For more information, visit edmonton.ca/ChangingForClimateSeries.