Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Light from the sun travels approximately 150,000,000 km to reach the earth in 8 minutes and 19 seconds. The energy of this sunlight supports almost all life on Earth by photosynthesis and drives Earth's climate and weather. Through photovoltaic arrays, this energy can also be easily converted into electricity. Slowly but surely, the world is adopting so called “green energy” as a move towards reducing use of fossil fuels and mitigating detrimental effects of greenhouse gases. Lethbridge lies well within the sun belt of Canada with approximately 2,500 hours of bright sunlight annually in comparison with for instance, Vancouver’s1,900. However, Lethbridge lags behind the rest of the province and even Canada in the installation of photovoltaic arrays. Why is this? The speaker will outline his and others experiences in installing photovoltaic arrays in Lethbridge. How does one go about getting it done? What are the systems available and what are their differences? What are the obstacles, costs, benefits and