Keremeos, BC, Solar Panels Save $

Solar panels at Keremeos sewage treatment plant cut costs by more than half.

Keremeos, a tiny village of about 1800 located in the southern Interior of BC, just won the Best Project of the Year Award from the Public Works Association of BC for its installation of solar panels.

Keremeos recently put up 32 solar panels in the municipal office parking lot and 16 panels at the village public works yard.

They are projected to save $130,000 over 25 years. The solar installation at the wastewater treatment plant is already up and running and expected to generate up to 52,000 kilowatts (kW) in one year. From the beginning of June to mid-October, it has saved the village $2500.

The projects were fully covered by the Local Government Climate Action Project funding.

In BC, where electricity is already low-carbon, the biggest solar benefit is cost control.

The money saved can be kept in the community instead of paying large corporations for fossil fuels.