The roof of the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound will be fitted for solar panels starting in the Spring.
There will be about 13 hundred panels — and it will generate not only green energy — but also 320 thousand dollars for the city’s coffers.
City council approved on Monday night a plan to execute a lease agreement with a company called Solar Sunbelt.
The company will install the panels and has promised the city a rental fee of 16 thousand dollars per year over the next 20 years.
Environmental Superintendent Chris Hughes says that price is guaranteed to Owen Sound regardless of changes to the Green Energy Act or the Feed-In Tariff program.
Even better — the City has no cost or responsibility pertaining to the outlay.
It’s all the responsibility of Solar Sunbelt.
The company was the successful bidder after Owen Sound developed an interest in having solar panels placed on the Bayshore roof and issued a request for proposals.
Hughes says the company is an arm of Hamilton-St. Catharine’s Hydro and so its municipal ties made it attractive to Owen Sound when compared to the other bidders.
The panels will be installed with the help of an aluminum racking system that will clamp to the raised ridges of the steel roof.
This means the roof will not be punctured during the installation, something the city insisted upon.
Hughes says if this project is successful — it could open the door to similar arrangements, perhaps for the roof of the new rec centre or other city-owned properties.
Currently, Owen Sound also has solar panels located at the works department building and at the soccer complex.
Those installations are owned by the city and are being paid off over time.
