What's New in Whistler

The BC Solar Days in Whistler drew out a crowd of kids and parents alike, from Solar race car races by the AWARE kids Nature club, to an industry showcase and public tour of the meadow park solar thermal installation. "I think it went really well," said Sara Jennings, from the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE). "The tours of the pool, and then the WHA house were very interesting and even without the sun the electric cars were a big hit. Since we couldn't give them away to kids who took part in a race, we had a draw about every 15 minutes and used this to entice kids over to our table to learn more about solar power and renewable energy."

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!

The Resort Municipality of Whistler is taking part in BC Solar Days with an afternoon of solar activities. Bring your family down and join in the solar celebration! Watch the kids race solar race cars, learn about solar hot water and take a tour of the solar hot water installation at the Meadow Park Sports Centre, hosted by RMOW staff. There will be lots of fun SolarBC giveaways as well - from Solar Days t-shirts, to magnets and green pens with sunflower seeds you can plant at home.

The Solar Hot Water workshop in Whistler is right around the corner, so if you want to follow in Mayor Ken Melamed’s footsteps by installing a solar hot water system in your home, this is the time to find out how.

The Regional Municipality of Whistler was unveiled as the seventh Solar Community with SolarBC, during the 2009 BC Solar Summit on February 20. The Region was recognized for their leadership and innovation in the deployment of solar hot water and other solar technologies in their community.

“Whistler is very pleased to have been chosen for this award,” said Mayor Ken Melamed. “We are very appreciative of the work that Solar BC is doing to promote energy wise building choices, and excited to join the other communities around BC in accelerating this initiative.”

Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed has a new reason to celebrate the sun — he’s recently installed a solar hot water system in his home. The project began last summer, with Melamed’s roof getting a new hairdo.

"When I thought about the fact I had the roof off, it seemed a good time to put the plumbing in that’s required for the systems," says Melamed. "We weren’t sure we’d put the panels on at that point."

He says his decision to install the entire system came after speaking with Taylor Munro, and learning that it was viable in our BC climate.