The Province of BC has just announced through their SolarBC project that Shawnigan Lake School will receive a $20,000 grant to install Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panals on campus


An on-going project of the province's BC Sustainable Energy Association, SolarBC accepted 51 applications for funding from public and private schools across the province that were interested in increasing solar energy on campus to decrease hydro-electricity and energy costs. After a six month wait, Shawnigan is one of eleven schools awarded funding towards the installation of a 2.5 kW photovoltaic (PV). SolarBC has committed to contributing 90% of the total project costs to a maximum of $20,000 for each school. The final schools were selected by a committee consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and SolarBC. Selection criteria was based on quality of the application, the ability of the school to showcase a PV system to the wider community, and geographic distribution across the province.

The SolarBC initiative stipulates a number of commitments, which Shawnigan must fulfill in order to receive the grant. One of the main requirements is ensuring student involvement in the design, siting and installation of the PV System. In order to do this, Shawnigan science teacher, and driving force behind the SolarBC application, Scott Noble will involve his grade 9 students during the electricity unit of their up-coming school year. Students will engage in labs to determine the optimal angle for placement of the PV panels relative to the sun's incident rays. Other fun activities such as 'solar car races' will also be used to support this learning outcome. Also the head of the Shawnigan Environment Club, Noble states, "Shawnigan is gradually moving toward becoming a fully sustainable institution. There are already many activities that students and staff are engaged in that support this cause, so I am confident that we will successfully incorporate activities into the academic program that promote solar power as a viable and worthwhile option as we strive to meet global energy demands."

Another grant prerequisite specifies that Shawnigan commit to monitoring the energy and GHG savings, as well as regularly reporting these results to SolarBC. Moreover, Shawnigan shall install a display on campus to keep the student-body and wider public community informed about the results and benefits of the PV system. As the project develops Shawnigan intends to publish a real-time display of energy savings and evidence of the reduced carbon footprint linked to the PV Panels' operation on the public web. Noble hopes, "the visible reminder of the benefits of renewable energy will cause a ripple effect through the larger community and inspire further sustainable undertakings". With 90% of the Shawnigan student body being boarders (most coming from communities in BC and Alberta), the value and impact of initiatives such as the SolarBC PV Panels will reach a broad market increasing public awareness.