New homes in Edmonton could require solar panels to help fight climate change

New homes in Edmonton could soon be required to be built with solar panel hook ups.

It’s one of the 15 actions councillors supported on Tuesday to improve climate resilience in the city, something that will happen over the next few years.

“We know that making those up front investments at the beginning of the project is much more cost effective and efficient than having to go back in and retrofit after they’ve already been built,” Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said Tuesday.

Salvador says the city is falling behind its own climate change goals for reducing carbon emissions for 2030 and up to 2050.

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She believes the 15 “priority actions” outlined in Tuesday’s report will help meet those goals.

Some of the actions include a streamlined permitting process for climate-resilient developments, preserving natural areas in new neighbourhoods and creating a climate risk index for all parts of Edmonton.

Dave Turnbull is a home building consultant with Enerspec Energy Consulting and supports the ideas, but questions the need for all homes to have solar panel hookups.

“Some people have the unfortunate happenstance of living in the shadow of a larger building where solar is just not going to work for them, so having a blanket statement is kind of difficult,” Turnbull said.

“I think giving people the options and giving people the choice to do so is absolutely fantastic … but making it mandatory and throwing that little bit of cost on top of a bunch of other little costs, (is) probably not the best course of action.”

Some of the 15 actions are already underway, city staff say the rest can be done without spending more money by the end of 2026.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson