ATHABASCA — Aspen View Public School (AVPS) trustees will review new information and alternatives for the Edwin Parr Composite solar panels after opting to go back to the drawing board in mid-May.
The item will be in front of the board once again during their June 18 meeting at Athabasca University, nearly two months after a motion to remove and dispose of the panels was passed at their April 22 meeting.
But administration requested an amendment to the motion during the board's May 13 meeting in Smoky Lake to allow for more time to explore other options.
“We’ve had some feedback on the disposition, but right now our focus has always been get them off the roof so we can have it repaired through the summer,” said AVPS secretary-treasurer Amber Oko.
“But I don’t think that we’ve fully investigated all the alternatives to know if disposition of the panels is the right choice for Aspen View at this time.”
Options initially presented to the board included removing the 700-some panels and reinstalling them after roof repairs, a plan with a price tag of $250,000.
Other alternatives presented to the board, which received mix reviews in April, were to create a solar array on ground level or rent the roof space to a solar company and buy energy back for a lower rate.
High costs, lack of division-owned land around the school, and risk of vandalism and damage were cited as concerns for a ground array, and future repairs to EPC’s roof were listed as cons to inviting a third party vendor in.
“There’s a lot of alternatives that are coming forward, and we just want to make sure we’re bringing the board all of the information before we move forward with that motion to dispose of the panels,” said Oko.
