The City of Kimberley, in partnership with The EcoSmart Foundation and Teck Corporation, has begun a solar energy test project that may eventually lead to solar power production by the City.

"We've been working on it for quite some time," said Kimberley Mayor Jim Ogilvie. "We were first contacted by EcoSmart about a year ago."

Two things led to Kimberley being chosen, the first being the high hours of yearly sunlight, and the second being the notice the City gained with all their climate change work last year.

The site chosen was the former Teck Concentrator.

"They had a long look at the site," Ogilvie said.

"It has several advantages. First, it's a south facing slope, the power line and substation are right there, it's fenced and access is controlled. There's a lot of infrastructure there."

Right now all that has been installed is two solar panels; one that will track the sun and one fixed. The idea is to measure just how much power can be produced at the site.

"We are now continuously measuring how much power can be produced and collecting data," Ogilvie said.

Ogilvie says if the site can be shown to produce 1 megawatt of power it's viable.

"If we could produce 5 megawatts we could supply the whole city," he said.

A problem right now is that hydro power is so cheap in BC that there aren't a lot of carbon offsets to be gained through solar power.

However, Ogilvie says if feed in tariffs such as they have in Europe and Ontario could be established, it becomes quite feasible.

The project's short-term objective is to build a one-megawatt peak solar power plant and power system that demonstrate both the feasibility of solar power in BC and the benefits of reusing the former mine's existing industrial infrastructure.

"Redeveloping a former mine site into a 'bright field' will bring considerable benefits to the City of Kimberley and the regional economy as a whole," said Ogilvie. "The test site is the first step in confirming that we have the resources we believe we do. The next step will be the development of the 1MWp solar power plant, which will establish Kimberley as an emerging player in the clean energy industry."

Teck, he says, is interested not only because they are interested in battery technology, but because converting a former brownfield industrial site into a solar energy producer is a very positive story.

"Teck is pleased to participate in the SunMine project as part of our efforts to support the City of Kimberley," said John Thompson, Vice President, Technology and Development at Teck. "The project will also provide us with a first look at solar power and how it may help us achieve our long-term goal of increasing the use of renewable energy in our operations."