SunMine

The largest solar installation in western Canada officially signed onto the grid on 27 July, 2015. Built on a reclaimed brownfield site of what was once the world’s richest lead and zinc mines, the aptly name SunMine moves Kimberley, BC decisively toward a sustainable future.

The SunMine is Now Open for Business

27 July, 2015

Congratulations Kimberley!

Remarks made at the opening ceremony:

Speaking on behalf of his people Nasukin (Chief) Jim Whitehead of the ʔaq’am (St. Mary’s Band) welcomed the project to ʔaq’am ancestral lands.

 

Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick points to the SunMine as a symbol of Kimberley's resiliency.

 

BC Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett speaks of BC’s commitment to increasing the amount of clean energy generated in the province.

 

 

 

 

Teck Resources President Don Lindsay notes the site's significant transition from a century of mining lead and zinc to a future of mining the energy of the sun ... a transition to sustainable communities and alternative sources of energy.

 

 

 

EcoSmart Foundation President and CEO Michel de Spot places the SunMine within a global context. As an example, he notes that there are now more people working in the solar industry in the U.S. than in the coal and gas industries combined.

Vice-Chairman of the Columbia Basin Trust, Rick Jensen links CBT’s mandate to Kimberley’s demonstrated success in becoming an innovative and sustainable community.