CANMORE
Canmore is a vibrant community in the front range of the Canadian Rockies just east of Banff National Park. Since hosting the Nordic events for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, the town has boomed, tripling in population.
In response to this rapid growth in an environmentally-sensitive area, the town recognized it needed to focus on long-term sustainability. Thus in 2004, Canmore committed to “The Natural Step”, an international sustainability process, recently highlighted by a solar PV installation as part of the Alberta Solar Showcase.
“Installing a solar PV project was a natural progression in our sustainability efforts,” says Mayor Ron Casey. “We are looking forward to educating our residents and visitors about how solar energy works. Additionally, we want to explore the possibilities for solar energy use throughout the municipality.”
The Canmore solar array was installed in December 2007 on the south-facing cedar shake roof of a municipally- owned building. It is home to the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley – a charitable group dedicated to public education about the watershed – which is taking an active role in the Alberta Solar project.
Solar team: KCP Energy (Canmore), Sedmek (Calgary)