Tallest solar-sided building in North America under construction in Halifax

Halifax will be home to North America's tallest solar wall

Nathan Coleman
Mon, April 3, 2023 

Tallest solar-sided building in North America under construction in Halifax

Halifax will soon be home to the tallest wall of solar panels in North America. The renewable energy source is now being installed as part of a retrofit on the side of the Loyola residence building at St. Mary's University in Halifax.

"It's not something we were aiming for, to be the biggest and the best, it just happened," said Facilities Management Senior Director Dennis Gillis in an interview with The Weather Network.

Engineers at St. Mary’s started looking at the integrity of the concrete façade of the 30-year-old building two years ago and determined it needed to be replaced. The school was hoping to integrate sustainable elements when they discovered that solar panel siding was an option.

Gillis said the concept is fairly prominent in Europe and slowly coming around in Canada.

Tallest solar wall - St Marys University - Nate Coleman
SMU electrical engineering students get a firsthand look at the innovative retrofit. (Nathan Coleman)

"It'll definitely provide power to the university and it'll lower our carbon footprint which is also very important too," Gillis added.

He explained that the panels will generate about 100,000 kilowatt hours per year with a carbon reduction in the range of 15 to 20 cars a year off the road.

Electrical engineering students at the university have also been monitoring the project firsthand as the construction progresses.

You can watch the installation process and check out the panels in the video above.

Thumbnail image: A rendering of what the panels will look like once construction is complete. (St. Mary's University)