Local group making solar panels affordable for Reginans

They’ve only been on his home for a few weeks, but Josh Campbell is excited about the new solar panels shining on his garage roof. They were bought through the Wascana Solar Co-operative, and the group is looking to make another buy this month.

Campbell helped start the co-operative with his wife. Its mission is to help defray the cost of solar panels by having people come together as a group to make the purchase.

“We basically organize a bulk purchase of solar panels through our co-op,” explained Campbell.

He said he and his wife came up with the idea after watching the Al Gore climate change film An Inconvenient Sequel. They wanted to get solar panels but felt it was too expensive.

The couple asked around and eventually attended the first meeting of about 120 people who were also interested in the idea.

The first panel buy happened in 2018, with 13 people involved.

The co-op put together the project, sent out requests for proposals, then made a choice based on the replies.

Campbell said a system like the one he has can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000, but the first group buy allowed each person to save, on average, about $5,000.

Campbell said having solar panels allows people to save money each month as well. He said he knows a man with panels who had previously been paying $180 a month in power bills, but now he pays $60 a month for power and $100 a month for the loan to buy the panels — and at the end of it all, he’ll still own the panel system.

Campbell explained when his system produced more power than he uses, he gets a credit on his SaskPower bill, which he’ll be able to use at times when there isn’t as much sun.

Besides the money, the project hits close to home for Campbell. He has two young children and teaches science at Miller Comprehensive High School, which means he talks about climate change every semester.

“To have students look at you and be like, ‘Well, what do we do about this?’ And to be able to talk about (the solar panels), it’s powerful. It really makes me feel like I’m doing something to invest in my kids’ future and my students’ future,” said Campbell.

The co-op’s second group buy is happening in March, and Campbell said anyone who’s interested can get in contact through the group’s website.