|
East Dartmouth Community Centre is First HRM Owned Building with LEED Silver Certification
The East Dartmouth Community Centre is Halifax Regional Municipality’s first municipally-owned certified LEED building, thanks to its use of geothermal heating and cooling; a green roof; 15% recycled building materials; low-emitting construction materials; and provisions for clients to use sustainable transportation.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green rating system for the design of new buildings certified by the Canada Green Building Council. It as a minimum standard for new HRM facilities.
Mayor Kelly and I unveiled the LEED Silver certification plaque May 4th at the East Dartmouth Community Centre. Not only is this building a welcome and important addition to our community, it is a shining example of HRM’s leadership role in building a more sustainable municipality.
There are at least 47 buildings in HRM that are registered and/or certified with LEED Canada. There are only three other buildings within the Municipality that have received LEED Silver Certification: Sir John A. Macdonald High School; NSCC Waterfront Campus; and the Armour Group’s Park Place. Six other recently built, HRM-owned buildings are seeking certification.
www.shubenacadiecanal.ca
Community Solar Project
The Community Solar Program is a proposed pilot
program in the development stage. Staff have conducted a number of community information sessions and have initiatied a pre-screen sign-up form to gauge interest in the program. Staff are also developing a detailed financial model, and have achieved approval rom the Province of Nova Scotia to amend the HRM Charter to allow participants to be billed as part of their annual tax bill.
Project Concept...
• $5 million pilot project to encourage individual homeowners to install solar panels for heating domestic hot water.
• Typically 2 solar hot water panels
• Financed through property tax bills
• User pay
• Cash flow neutral or positive
• Payback 5-10 years depending upon available rebates and interest rates
• Pilot 500 – 700 homes (1000 panels)
• Economies of scale purchase & install
Visit http://www.halifax.ca/solarcity/ for more information.
|
