Coun. Michael Wolfe put forward his first motion to city council last week, in the hopes of seeing an increase if in solar panels in Richmond.
Wolfe’s motion specifically addressed the Toyota development in the auto mall, near Richmond Nature Park. While expressing his concern over the proposed height of the building, Wolfe tapped into another issue he was passionate about.
“With an electric car future ahead of us, coming very quick, we should be electrifying the auto mall. It should be a source of energy through solar walls and solar roofs, not just a place where we get the vehicles that pollute and use up energy elsewhere,” Wolfe told the Richmond News.
“We’re not saying we should cancel this project, we’re just saying let’s see if we can get our new ideas and make this a better project for this developer...let them be a model for what we want to see going forward.”
While Wolfe was pleased about council’s response, he said the discussion highlighted the need for city-wide framework to encourage more solar panel installations.
“I’m going to be working on a motion to actually have solar policy for industrial areas because right now Richmond has none,” Wolfe said. “We have requirements and suggestions we can make to residential but we don’t have anything for industrial and that’s what I’m hoping to bring out of this discussion.”
Coun. Carol Day supported Wolfe’s motion, adding her view on the potential for solar infrastructure.
“I do believe that the south wall (of the development) creates an opportunity for solar panels all the way along the south wall,” she said during the council meeting.
“Given that it’s such a large building, this thing could be self-sufficient if it’s designed properly.”
Some new developments in Richmond have opted to install solar panels on their roofs. For example, the new Brighouse Fire Hall has been approved for solar panels which will lead to it requiring no energy from the city’s power grid.
Moving forward, after a vote of 5-4 in favour of his amendment, Wolfe said this particular development will return to the development permit panel to see if there are options to include solar or limit heights.
