Port Alberni hospital has Vancouver Island's largest array of solar power

Who loves the sun? turns out West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni does.

That building is home to 400 solar panels the largest power-generating array on Vancouver Island, in fact.

The panels will be doing their work in the weeks and months ahead to see how much money Island Health Authority can save by using the power of the sun.

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"When it's really hot and sunny and we're using a lot of power to keep the hospital cool, the rates get very high with BC Hydro," Deanna Fourt, director of energyefficiency and conservation with Island Health Authoritytold All Points West host Robyn Burns.

"So it's going to work very nicely with the solar. This is what we're thinking, because it's going to be offsetting those really high-rate days or high-rate times."

The panels and their installation cost $320,000 andFourt says they won't be a big money-saver up front, but the hope is they will save money over the course of 30 years.

Port Alberni heat

Port Alberni's hospital was chosen because the town gets so hot; no other hospitals with Island Health are using solar power for electricity, but solar is used to heat water at Victoria General, Aberdeen Hospital, Saanich Peninsula Hospital and at a long-term care home in Duncan.

"We're continuing to look for other roofs. We've had a few assessments done," Fourtsaid. "I think the idea of installing photovoltaics in situations where we might be increasing electrical production then it would be a nice mix."

The hospital will be closely monitoring power savings over the summer to see how much money itsavesbefore the authority addssolar to other sites.

With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West

To hear the full story, click on the audio labelled:Port Alberni hospital gets Island's largest solar power array