Vancouver Is Officially A Solar Community

This Solar Ready City Is Making Strides In Local Building Industry

Southeast False Creek Net Zero Building at Vancouver's Olympic Village.

SolarBC recognizes the leadership that the City of Vancouver has undertaken in their development of solar demonstration projects and by mandating that all new homes be solar ready. This translates to the city’s official title of SolarBC Solar Community, making them the 9th in the provincial program.

"The City of Vancouver is thrilled to be SolarBC's newest Solar Community," says Sustainable Development Planner Rachel Moscovich. She adds that they look forward to working towards moving solar to the mainstream and growing the solar technology industry in Vancouver and throughout BC.

Stepping in this direction they recently announced their Solar Homes Strategy, which is currently financing up to 50 per cent (about $3500) of the cost of installing a solar hot water system, which will be available for 15 months to 50 new houses on a first-come, first-served basis. (For more information on this and other components of the Solar Homes Strategy, click here.) This program, in partnership with SolarBC, Terasen and Offsetters, follows on the heels of Vancouver's 2008 Green Homes Program which requires all new houses to be solar ready.

"We welcome the City into our Solar Communities program and look forward to working in partnership with the City towards demonstrating the potential for solar hot water throughout B.C.," says SolarBC Executive Director, Nitya Harris.

Vancouver currently has the greenest building code for new houses in North America with a continued commitment to achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold for new municipal facilities. The development and installation of on-site renewable energy, and the increased uptake of solar technology in Vancouver transales to a reduction of building related greenhouse gas emissions and is critical towards achieving the city’s future target of carbon neutral new construction.