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🏛 City HallKelownaArticle

Kelowna just approved 13 new solar companies. Yours could be next.

Your City Hall is saying yes to new energy

Good morning from the Okanagan — the lake is calm, the vines are growing, and we have things to discuss.

Okay but here's the thing nobody talks about: your City Hall is quietly making some big moves when it comes to renewable energy. We’re seeing a significant uptick in solar panel installations, which is something I know a lot of you have been curious about.

### What the Numbers Say

According to the latest business licenses issued, Kelowna approved **13 new solar panel installation companies** in just the last quarter. That's a huge jump. To put that in perspective, we only saw seven new licenses for solar installations in all of last year.

* This includes businesses like "Okanagan Sun Power Solutions" and "Lakeview Solar Innovations."

* Most of these new companies are operating out of the Rutland and Mission areas, though they'll serve the whole city.

* This suggests a real demand from homeowners and businesses wanting to go green.

This surge means more local jobs and more options for you if you're thinking about putting panels on your roof. It's also a clear signal that Kelowna is leaning into a greener future, which is essential for protecting our beautiful valley from things like, well, you know. This is a trend we'll be watching closely to see how it impacts our energy grid and overall carbon footprint.

Nina Papadimitriou, MiTL Sports Desk, Kelowna.

You know Keith and the team have thoughts on this — tune in live at mornings.live.

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The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →