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First Solar Park in Canada Comes Online in Vulcan

Jun 19, 2016 | 10:42 AM

VULCAN – The Town of Vulcan has unveiled a project that is the first of its kind in Canada.

The Vulcan Solar Park features an array of solar panels on a green space that allows community members to get an up-close look at the project.

“We took a piece of barren land and then made it into a park,” explained Vulcan Mayor Tom Grant. “The Kinnette Club donated $25,000 to put a walking path through it, and then we’ve got benches and picnic tables, so it’s a true park, but it also produces electricity.”

Grant noted that the idea came about after another project fell through in 2008, and the community started looking for other ways to spend the $484,000 in grant funding obtained from the provincial government. The land was then leased from Imperial Oil for 100 years.

While talking about the park, Grant pointed out that there are two major benefits coming from the project.

“It has an energy component to it, it produces electricity, which we sell back to the grid,” Grant stated. “Then it also has an educational side to it, which is being used by Lethbridge College and the high school.”

Grant says they plan to continue developing the park, with a goal of providing even more renewable energy for the community in the future.