Changing for Climate Series *
Heather MacKenzie discovered the power of solar in 2016 when the Province began offering incentives and she and her husband approached their church and proposed they install a solar array 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.
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, but since then, thanks to significant cost decreases there are more than 3,800 solar systems (as of July 2023) installed on Edmonton homes and businesses.
Solar is now the cheapest way to generate electricity in the world.
Bitten by the solar bug
After Heather was bitten by the solar bug, she set out to install solar 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.
Blatchford has a geothermal district heating system and Heather figured a solar-powered home was a perfect match. “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.”
Unfortunately, by then, the provincial rebates they used for the church had wrapped up. However, by the time Heather was ready to install solar on her new home, the City of Edmonton had started its own incentives program, and they qualified. They were one of the first two homeowners to install solar in their Blatchford neighbourhood.
Solar begets solar
“I think there’s lots of evidence showing the biggest factor determining whether people get solar is if their neighbour gets solar,” says Heather.
This is certainly the case in Blatchford. Since then, most of the other homes near her have all installed solar.
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, (mostly non-renewable), Alberta power grid.
Heather is not sure if they can reach net-zero, but they are getting close. Net-zero means all of the energy for the home is produced on the home on a net-annual basis.
Gallery of Edmonton solar installations
Solar on the Shaw Conference Centre with Adam Yereniuk of Kuby Solar. 
Solar on the Blatchford Geothermal Energy Center. 
The Salvation Army’s Grace Village a solar-powered, geothermal heated complex. 
David Kelly of Skyfire Energy with a solar system they installed on the south face of the Dub Center in downtown Edmonton. 
Raquel Feroe and Deborah Robb in the Riverdale Community League Garden. Many leagues have installed solar. 
Solar is on three sides of the Metis Alberta offices in Edmonton. 
Solar on the Crichton’s home in north Edmonton, a home recently certified as net-zero. 
Solar on the EPCOR Service Center in Edmonton. 
Solar on the Jasper Place Fire Hall in Edmonton. 
Solar on the Landmark Homes head offices in Edmonton. 
Solar on the Sandercock home in Edmonton which was renovated to net-zero using an approach called EnergieSprong. 
Solar on the Tuft’s home in Edmonton’s Westmount from the Changing for Climate Series. 
Special architectural transparent solar on the Edmonton Convention Center. 
The large 2.7-megawatt solar system on Edmonton’s EXPO Convention Center. 
Wider shot of the 2.7 megawatt solar system on the Edmonton EXPO Convention Center.
Key to reducing emissions in the city
“The City of Edmonton has committed to an Energy Transition Strategy,” says Heather. Of course, reducing emissions from buildings, vehicles and industry is all part of that. Solar can help reduce emissions in all those areas.”
“The City also wants to get 10 per cent of the electricity used in the City to come from locally-based renewable energy,” says Heather. “Of course, that is code for solar. That’s partly why, I think, we’re seeing so much support right now from the City for getting solar installed on residential rooftops all around you.”
The City has or is installing solar on 19 of its own facilities such as fire halls and recreation centers with six more planned. The largest is the 2.7-megawatt (5,754 solar modules) solar system on the Edmonton EXPO Center which is planning to add another 1.8 megawatts.
Solar just getting started
Thanks to its low cost, Heather believes Albertans are just getting started with solar. There are around 1,000 megawatts of solar on the grid today in Alberta. Heather predicts that “By 2025, we’re going to have over 11,500 megawatts on the grid.” If Heather is right, once solar gets a foothold in a neighbourhood, we will start seeing more and more solar panels on rooftops.
There is a solar boom going on in Alberta these days. The Travers Solar project near Vulcan, Alberta is the largest in Canadian history and will produce enough power to supply 150,000 homes.
What if I want to go 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 getting started and choosing a solar provider on the City’s Change for Climate website or at the Solar Alberta website. In addition, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association has just produced a Go Solar Guide which is free to download.
Installers will know about current rebate programs and financing, and other incentives as well.
As for Heather, she’s now one of 3,800 Edmontonians (as of July 2023) who have installed solar to save money and reduce emissions and contribute to a low-carbon future.
GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast
*(David Dodge of Green Energy Futures worked with the City of Edmonton to produce a 14-part series on people Changing for Climate – we are pleased to present an adapted version of the original story here)