CBC News reported June 26 that the town of Raymond in southern Alberta, population about 4200, plans to draw all its power from solar panels alone – likely making it the first municipality in Canada to do so.
With the help of Calgary-based Enmax, the town plans to install some 2,700 solar panels on top of all of its municipal buildings, at a cost of $2.8 million. The panels are designed to generate more than enough power to supply all of the municipal government's energy needs, said Greg Robinson, director of community and economic development for the town.
The system will not use batteries, preferring to feed its surplus energy into the grid and drawing certain amounts back from the grid when needed. At the end of every calendar year, they'll find out if the solar energy collected covered their energy costs, and if they hit their net zero target.
See also related story, “Alberta town claims Canada’s largest municipal rooftop solar,” elsewhere this issue.