Glenrosa residents are promoting more solar, like the Summerland initiative. (submitted photo/District of Summerland)

By Glenn Hicks

power savings

Residents push West Kelowna council to embrace solar energy

May 21, 2025 | 3:00 PM

The Glenrosa Residents Association (GRA) in West Kelowna wants the city to make a bigger effort to embrace solar energy, as a municipality and to encourage individual residents.

The association has over 200 members and is part of an area of more than 6,600 residents. It wants the city to leverage the benefits of solar in terms of cost savings and job creation.

A presentation by the GRA to council Tuesday, May 20, suggested the municipality build its own solar array – as Summerland has with its solar centre – known as independent power production. That power then gets sold to a utility to help offset city energy costs. The proposed site for such a project could be the eight-acre lot on Butt Road.

The group also wants the city to ensure all new homes are solar ready into the future.

It also advocated for individual homeowners and public buildings to install solar panels that can be part of what’s known as net metering, which is a billing arrangement between energy providers and their customers that can help reduce costs. The homeowner’s solar panels add energy to the grid and any excess can lead to direct savings.

Pay

Vernon's mayor and council pay going up as originally planned

13h ago

Official Community Plan

Vernon's new OCP officially adopted

13h ago

Shopping Interruption

Vernon's mall evacuated after fire alarm pulled

14h ago

“I have solar on our house,” GRA President Dan Goy told council. “April and May we’re not using air conditioning [yet] … and last year our bill for April and May was $1.17. Prior to the solar we were paying $225 per month.”

Goy suggested, based on research he’s done, that the city could go a long way towards offsetting its energy costs by going big on solar.

Coun. Garrett Millsap was one of several lawmakers who applauded the residents association’s forward-thinking presentation. He also has a solar system on his home.

“This is an outside-the-box idea and I love it, because I’ll tell you right now, in one year I’ve saved $2,400 in power savings at my house. My savings are real.”

West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom thanked the presenters and reminded them the city does have plans to install solar energy on some of its public facilities as part of its Corporate Climate Action Plan.