Both the Creston Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Trinity United Church have received grant funding from the Columbia Basin Trust to install solar panels.
Chamber Manager Vern Gorham says he initially applied for the energy sustainability grant to replace their old furnace, but now they have the capacity to install both items
“With the Columbia Basin Trust with this tremendously generous offering of 75% towards any project, we thought this would be a very worthwhile thing for us as a Chamber. Not only just because it will help our electric bills down the road, it will lower them and produce less of a carbon footprint.”
The Columbia Basin trust donated a grand total of $657,000Â to 13 communities in the Kootenay region, with $32,000 going to Creston’s Visitor Info Centre building and $45,000 to the Trinity United Church’s assembly area and thrift store.
The Solar Panels will be installed fairly soon in the Visitor Centre according to Gorham.
“We have until the end of 2019 to actually complete the project, but we’re hoping to get it done in the next couple months.”
The Chamber is pitching in 25% for the total cost of the solar panels and instillation and paying 50% for the new high efficiency furnace thanks to the grant funding.