Kelowna

Kelowna’s residents saw their city in a new ‘light’ during the BC Solar Days events - from solar race car races to a solar bus tour of the city that showcased some of Kelowna’s most inspirational ‘green’ buildings. Celebrating the power of the sun, local schools competed in solar car races at the EECO Centre at Mission Creek Regional Park during the Mayor’s Environmental Expo, happening the same time at Mission Creek Regional Park. Classes competed against each other in two events: the fastest time and a head-to-head elimination playoff.

SolarBC would like to give a huge thank-you to the communities and organizations that participated in this year's activities and for their hard work in organizing and implementing their Solar Days events, all of which has been a fantastic success on a whole. As well, all of our homeowners who hosted the open houses deserve a province-wide round of applause! Many were not expecting the huge crowds that came out and for their generosity and hospitality, as well as their enthusiasm in sharing their solar experiences with others we are very grateful.

Please keep an eye on our website for future pictures of all the events, which we will be posting as we get them in.

We hope you are as excited as we are for this year’s BC Solar Days!

Join Kelowna for a Solar Bus Tour, Saturday May 29, and visit homeowners who've installed solar hot water, a winery, and an eco building. This tour is being hosted in conjunction with Kelowna's Solar Days events, happening May 28-29.

The bus tour is open to the public and you don't have to register in advance - just hop on at the start of the route and be dropped off back where you started from, at the end of the tour. The bus has a 45 people capacity so there's plenty of room.

Four mayors and one chief have installed solar hot water on their homes in BC and most recent to join the solar revolution is Mayor Sharon Shepherd, in Kelowna. "I have been an advocate of solar for our city and felt I should look at the opportunity to do it in my own home," she says. Mayor Shepherd is no stranger to solar - when she and her husband first purchased their home in Kelowna in the late 70s, they installed solar to an outdoor pool. Back then, she said, solar was a new technology that was getting a lot of attention but the attention dwindled in the 80s. "It’s been reintroduced so we’re enthused about having it on the home."

Mayor Sharon Shepherd has just installed solar hot water in preparation of the Okanagan sunshine that’s springing around the corner. Mayor Shepherd joins our other Solar Community Mayors who’ve installed solar hot water on their homes – alongside Mayor Ken Melamed of Whistler, Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver and Chief Gordon Planes, of T’Sou-ke First Nation.