Lumsden, Sask., gets $1.1M from Ottawa for solar power project

Saskatchewan's biggest cities have beensteadily addingsolar power, but smaller communities like Lumsden are doing it, too.

The town of about 1,800 people nestled in the Qu'Appelle Valley northwest of Reginahas installed solar panels as part of an overallupgrade of its sewage treatmentsystem.

$1.1M from federal low-carbon fund

"The wastewater treatment committee worked on a solution to our sewage lagoon problem and we have that solution in place," said Rhonda Phillips, Lumsden town councillorandchair of the committee.

"The solar project is a part of it."

Money forthe project was approveda year ago and since then, Phillips says, the committeehas been fine-tuning it.

It's ready to go, it's hooked up, it's operational.- Lumsden town councillor Rhonda Phillips

Ottawa has put$1.1million into the town's solar initiativethrough its Low Carbon Economy Fund.

3 segments to town's solar project

The town currently has three components to its solar project, Phillips said.

"One is the recycling centre and it'll be net zero, it's ready to go, it's hooked up, it's operational," shesaid. "The solar panels are in, bidirectional meters are in and it's all good."

There will be power for acompactor and a recycling centre, complete with computers, lights and heat.

A second partof the project is a wastewaterlift station.

"The solar is in place to operate that station and it will be hooked up within the next two months." Phillips said.

616 kilowatts of solar power

The thirdcomponent to the project will bring solar power to thenew wastewater treatment plant including all of the associated infrastructure.

"Electricity will be provided to it from a very large solar array ... which will have 616 kilowatts of solar [energy]."

Phillips said the large sewage treatment facility component also has batteries so it won't export onto the SaskPower grid.

"Renewable energy will be produced by the solar panels, it'll go and be stored in a big battery system and then the solar panels and the battery are available to run [the] wastewater treatment plant," Phillips said.

She says the panels will provide about two-thirds of the electricity Lumsdenneeds to run the wastewater treatment plant.

Lower carbon footprint

Over the lifetime of theproject, its expected Lumsdenwill see a cumulative reduction of about 13,200tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

That's equivalent to taking4,000cars off the road for one year.