Truro Curling Club Goes Solar

The Truro Curling Club will soon harness the power of the sun to help operate the facility.

The Province announced a $200,000 investment in the club’s solar energy project today, September 8, in Truro.

“The Truro Curling Club has long been a hub for our community, and these upgrades will make the facility a sustainable gathering place that will continue to be cherished for generations to come,” said Dave Ritcey, MLA for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River, on behalf of Timothy Halman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Communities are experts in identifying new ways to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Our government is proud to invest in these local community initiatives that are making a meaningful difference.”

With this funding, the Truro Curling Club will purchase and install a solar energy system, which will help power the club and make ice for the curling rink. Generating electricity from sunlight will create long-term cost savings and reduce the club’s environmental impact.

The investment is through the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, which is available to municipalities, non-profit and community organizations, post-secondary institutions and Mi’kmaw communities to help them respond to and prepare for climate change impacts and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Quotes:

“The Truro Curling Club is extremely pleased to take part in the SCCF. Not only will our solar project reduce carbon dioxide emissions by several tonnes a year, it will save us a great deal in electrical costs every year. Although we had already looked into the possibility of doing this on our own, the main obstacle was financing the project. This grant not only allows us to proceed but will result in a short payback period and very important savings going forth.”

– Terry Amirault, President, Truro Curling Club

“The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, through the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, is pleased to support the Truro Curling Club’s initiative to make their operations more sustainable with the installation of solar panels. These panels will generate and store renewable energy used to operate their facility and make ice. The project is funded through the mitigation stream, which supports projects that seek to avoid or reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to Nova Scotia’s targets for emission reductions.”

– Juanita Spencer, CEO, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities

Quick Facts:

• the solar system is estimated to save the club about $375,000 in electrical costs over 25 years
• the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund provides $15 million over three years for projects that help communities adapt to climate change, mitigate its impacts and help Nova Scotia reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
• the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities was selected through a request for proposals process to develop and administer the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund on behalf of the government

Additional Resources:

More information on the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund is available at: https://nschallengefund.ca/

Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/environmental%20goals%20and%20climate%20change%20reduction.pdf