NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release 2010TRAN0056-000992 Aug. 26, 2010

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

 

SOLAR POWER WELCOMES DRIVERS AT HWY 37 B.C./YUKON BORDER

 

VICTORIA – Building on a commitment to invest in clean energy projects while improving the safety and security of its highways, the Province has installed new solar-powered signage and lighting at the B.C./Yukon border, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond announced today.

 

“This alternative energy project makes sense for a variety of reasons,” said Bond. “It provides year-round visibility for our ‘Welcome to B.C.’ sign at the border, a safer rest stop for motorists travelling Highway 37 at night and reduces the cost of bringing power to a remote location.”

 

“Solar-powered signs on our border will show visitors from the Yukon, Alaska and elsewhere that B.C. is a climate-friendly province,” said John Yap, Minister of State for Climate Action. “These signs are one of the common-sense ways we are cutting carbon pollution in our province and meeting our greenhouse gas reduction targets.”

 

The Province invested approximately $60,000 to provide solar lighting for both the welcome sign and the motion-activated internal and external lights at the rest stop located at the B.C./Yukon border, 220 km north of Dease Lake on Highway 37. The sign was the only Welcome to B.C. sign on a numbered route that was not previously illuminated. The project will serve as a test site for future solar projects in areas with limited hours of daylight in the winter.

 

The Province’s 2008 Energy Plan and its Climate Action Plan committed government to reviewing all forms of clean, alternative energy to meet British Columbians' future energy needs. Bioenergy, geothermal energy, tidal, run-of-the-river, solar, and wind power were all identified as potential energy sources in a clean, renewable, low-carbon future.

 

Other ministry-funded solar installations include rest stop lighting at Mine Hill on Highway 3 west of Princeton and solar webcams for Highway 3 near Castlegar and Highway 99 near Pemberton.

-30-

Media Contact:

Jeff Knight Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure 250 356-7707

 

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.