A project that will see more than 1,000 solar panels installed on the roof of the Scott Seaman Sports Rink is going ahead following a slim 4-3 vote from Foothills County council.
The decision was made Wednesday following hours of back and forth between the reeve, councillors and municipal energy manager Adeniyi Adeaga on every possible aspect of the undertaking, including performance and maintenance, federal funding, carbon credits and payback periods, roof capacity, engineering and recycling.
"I’m in favour of the project going ahead and I expect a structural assessment of the building will indicate what’s required for roof support," said Coun. Suzanne Oel, who made the motion to approve the project with the stipulation an engineer review the building prior to installation, something the energy manager said would be required in his initial presentation
A vote on the project, of which 80 per cent of the $1.3-million cost would be paid by Infrastructure Canada's Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program, was postponed from February after lengthy discussion ended with a request for more information.
In preparation, Adeaga said he visited sites in Okotoks, Airdrie and Diamond Valley to view and ask questions of their existing solar projects and was accompanied by some councillors.
Oel went to two of those locations and said they aided in answering her questions.
"I attended the two site visits and found them to be helpful," she said, adding the project benefits include extending the lifespan of the roof, guaranteed productivity of the panels, low maintenance, annual utility savings, access to carbon credits and the use of a significant federal grant.
Foothills County would be responsible for around $260,000 to complete the installation, which is estimated to save more than $63,500 in utility costs annually, according to Adeaga.
Despite bringing back answers to most of the questions posed during the February meeting, many councillors were not sold on the manager's proposal and their colleague's subsequent motion.
Coun. Rob Siewert inquired whether a roofing specialist had been consulted on the long-term effects of the standing seam mount on the structure and also expressed concerns that options for a ground-mount project, which he said would be a better "bang for [their] buck" had not been explored.
Adeaga said ground mounts are much more expensive to install and don't produce enough more to warrant the cost. The federal grant is also confined to use within the area of the Scott Seaman Sports Rink. County council has previously expressed its dislike with building projects on productive agricultural land.
Coun. Don Waldorf said he was also concerned about the weight on the roof and questioned the measurable output of the panels. Similarly, Coun. Alan Alger raised questions about the amount of power generated and how much would go to the building versus how much would go to the grid.
"Why don’t we just buy green energy from the grid?" asked Alger. "We could be buying it at a reduced rate and still doing our part for the green energy program without all this infrastructure coming out of pocket."
Adeaga's calculations indicated the County's portion of the project would be paid back in approximately four years, based on estimated utility savings. Coun. R.D. McHugh countered and said it would take closer to 26 years, according to his math.
The manager said the councillor's calculations were incorrect.
In line with her previous comments, Reeve Delilah Miller was adamant that she is against the project without a fulsome recycling program or a fee for recycling charged to manufacturers.
"In 2018 I brought a recycling resolution to RMA (Rural Municipalities Association). It’s been five years and there’s still no recycling happening in Canada," she said. "We have a pilot project but certainly not to the scope where it needs to be.
"I can’t support something that I brought to the RMA as a huge black mark on the environment to allow solar without any kind of recycling program, it would be hypocritical of me to support something like this.
Coun. Barb Castell, who supported Oel's motion, said it is important for council to trust the expert opinion of its managers.
"I think we’re foolish to let this money go and we’re not doing any service to our residents at all by incurring high costs of energy that is going to happen," she said. "I trust our energy manager, why else would we have an energy manager if we wouldn’t trust what he’s going to tell us.
"He’s an engineer.
"It’s happening all over and to believe that it’s not going to be the way of the future is wrong because the sun is there for us to use."
In the end, Oel amended her motion to include the exploration of setting up a bond or putting money away every year to deal with end-of-life possibilities.
Councillors Alger, Castell, McHugh and Oel were for the motion, while Miller, Siewert and Waldorf were against.
A request for proposals will be issued following the completion of a structural assessment.
