| May 28, 2010 Richmond Named a Solar Community RICHMOND –The City of Richmond has been named a Solar Community and has been awarded $5,000 to further develop solar hot water programs and other solar initiatives in an effort to promote clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote a sustainable energy future. “Solar energy is one of the cleanest types of energy that we can use and these plans put our city on the forefront of clean energy practices,” says Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap. “Richmond has been making the effort to introduce projects that will eventually see the whole city lower its carbon emissions,” says Richmond Centre MLA Rob Howard. “Recognizing future generations rely on these actions helps ensure cleaner and more livable communities in the future.” The communities selected are: the city of Richmond, the corporation of Delta, the city of Campbell River, the district of Invermere, the city of Fort St. John, the city of Grand Forks and the regional district of Nanaimo. These communities were chosen through an RFP process and will each receive $5,000. This brings the total number of solar communities to 16. On July 17, 2008, the Province announced a $5 million investment in the SolarBC initiative to support six solar hot water programs, including installations on residences, local government buildings, First Nations homes, social housing, schools and the Solar Communities initiative. “These solar communities will provide leadership by their innovative deployment of solar technologies and will become role models for communities across B.C.,” said Nitya Harris, Executive Director of SolarBC. A solar hot water system can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one to two tonnes per year for a single family home using natural gas for water heating. The increased use of solar energy technology is part of a broader sustainable energy strategy that will help the Province reach its goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020. SolarBC supports the proposed Clean Energy Act and the BC Energy Plan conservation and clean energy objectives. For more information on SolarBC, please visit www.solarbc.ca. -30- | |
| © 2007 Government Caucus of British Columbia. All Rights Reserved. |