By Vanessa Broadbent

Oliver Chronicle

Oliver’s air cadets are going solar and hoping for a little green from the community to help make it possible.

With community donations and fundraising, the 232 Bighorn Squadron has installed 40 solar panels at its hangar on Cessna Drive. The group has already covered $10,000 of the costs but still has $14,000 to go.

Once completed, the panels will save the cadets about $2,000 in energy costs every year, said Squadron Sponsoring Committee chair Melissa Graf.

In spring of 2017, the committee was approached by a community member with information about switching to solar energy after the Oliver Food Bank installed solar panels.

“After long debates and discussions, our sponsoring committee decided to go forward with the solar panel project for our building,” Graf said. “Besides being environmentally friendly, it could be a cost saving measure for our organization.”

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Like many local community service groups and non-profit youth organizations, the squadron works from what Graf calls a “shoestring budget,” and she says its costs are always rising, especially with cutbacks to support from the Department of National Defense.

“Each year of operation becomes more difficult,” Graf said. “The funds saved from the utility bills will help keep the costs of maintaining our building low and provide extra funds for our air cadet training programs.”

The 40 photovoltaic panels will generate 12,864.7 kWh of electricity every year and save about $1,500 annually, said Susan Huber of Summerland’s Swiss Solar Tech Ltd. who completed the project.

The building currently consumes around 14,000 kWh every year, so the panels will offset over 90 per cent of annual energy costs.

The hangar also operates as a community supportive structure, with local groups including the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, the BC Archery Association and the Oliver Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs using the facility on a regular basis.

The 232 Bighorn air cadet squadron’s hangar got 40 new solar panels, installed last month. The squadron is hoping the public will help cover the cost of the panels. The squadron is hoping to raise another $14,000. (Vanessa Broadbent photo)

Graf now hopes the community will return the support.

A total of $7,500 has already been donated by outgoing Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes, Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff, councillor Mike Campol and regional district Area C director Terry Schafer, but the cadets are hoping the community will step up and help fund the remaining $14,000.

Swiss Solar Tech Ltd. will donate two free solar PV modules for every $5,000 donated to the cadets. The company is also pricing the system at cost.

Graf said she plans to create a GoFundMe page, and will give a tax-deductible donation receipt for donations over $25.

Cheques can be sent to the 232 Bighorn Squadron at PO Box 192, Oliver B.C., V0H 1T0.