Government announces new solar plants
Posted Feb 15, 2019 4:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The Alberta government is granting a 20-year contract to supply about half of its electricity needs to a solar power partnership.
The partnership will result in the building of three new solar power plants for more than $100 million.
Minister of Environment and Parks Shannon Phillips made the announcement at the McDougall Centre on Friday and explains what the partnership means for everyday Albertans.
“It’s when all of us are running our dishwashers. It’s when we’re running around, chasing after the kids and telling them to turn off the lights. That is when we have the most peak demand. That happens to be also when solar is producing so it actually has benefits for all power consumers.”
The minister also talked about the savings that the new agreement will bring.
“What we’re announcing here today is that we’ll be saving $3.9 million a year over our previous contracts by doing this via solar.”
Construction on the three plants will begin in early 2020 and are expected to come online in 2021 and could power roughly 20,000 homes annually.
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