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Work is nearing completion on one of Edmonton’s largest solar projects that will see 1,428 solar panels outfitted to three retail rooftops at Harvard’s Currents of Windermere project. The panels, which are anticipated to be fully operational and generating power by the end of July, are expected to achieve nearly $70,000 in annual energy savings and produce approximately 686,800 kWh/yr. (kilowatt-hours per year). Over the course of 25 years, they will produce enough solar energy to offset over 2,200 Alberta homes.

The project began in 2021 after the Alberta Government introduced the Clean Energy Improvement Program, which offers incentives to landlords looking to install energy-efficient upgrades or renewable energy installations on their property. The team, spearheaded by Tony Prsa, Vice President, Alberta; and Wanda Crantz, Shopping Centre Manager, quickly applied, was accepted, and released an RFP that saw Great Canadian Solar selected to carry out the work.

“All together this took about 6 months,” says Tony Prsa. “Great Canadian Solar are experts in this area and helped us tremendously to navigate the regulatory process. This is highly specialized work that they are doing, so we really wanted the right team involved on both the engineering and production side.”

The new panels also come with a 25-year warranty, something Prsa says was very important.

“We wanted these to generate power for at least 25 years, and it just so happens that with the equipment that GCS proposed; 80% of its generating capacity will still be there after that period.”

This solar project isn’t the only energy-efficient initiative taking place at Currents of Windermere either.

Please stay tuned for more exciting details and announcements on Harvard's sustainability efforts.