The rooftops of Calgary are one hot commodity when it comes to solar panel potential, suggests a new study from the Schulich School of Engineering.
Geomatics engineering student Aasima Gadiwan, working under the supervision of Dr. Mozhdeh Shahbazi, PhD, measured the solar potential of Calgary’s rooftops, determining that solar photovoltaic panels could provide nearly 23 per cent of the city’s annual power demands simply by capturing southern Alberta’s plentiful sunlight.
“This is an estimate of the available rooftop area in Calgary for solar PV installation and determines what portion of the city’s annual, monthly and hourly needs can be fulfilled,” explains Gadiwan. “Calgary is the sunniest city in Canada, and the potential of rooftop solar installation is quite evident, for both residential and industrial scale implementation.”
Gadiwan spent this past summer supported by UCalgary’s PURE (Program for Undergraduate Research Experience) Awards initiative, which provides up to $6,000 for 16 weeks of academic investigation under some of the university’s top researchers.
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Image via University of Calgary.