The City of Kimberley has released the third quarter report for SunMine production, with 91.3 per cent of projected production generating $64,434 in revenue.
City CAO Scott Sommerville says numbers during the third quarter are just below what was projected. with wildfires and resulting smoke negatively affecting production during August.
“Two years in a row there has been large amounts of smoke during the month of August, due to forest fires, which is largely to blame for the lower than projected numbers,” said Sommerville at a regular Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.
July 2018’s revenue was $27,160 on 260.25 MWh. August saw $20,148 on 181.71 MWh, and September’s revenue was $17,326 on 148.97 MWh.
The City also recently ordered 10 refurbished vertical drives at a cost of $15,500, not including labour.
“City electricians expect all 96 vertical drives to require replacement, and all azimuth drives to require customization with better mounting,” explained Sommerville.
He says that the purchase was necessary to keep up with maintenance ahead of the prospective sale of the SunMine to Teck. Residents voted to have the City sell the SunMine on a referendum during the 2018 Municipal Election.
READ MORE: City meeting with Teck to proceed with SunMine sale
Somerville says he has been discussing the sale with Teck and they have agreed to proceed with negotiations.
He adds that both Teck and the City are optimistic about the sale, however it could take some time before things are finalized, considering the large amount of legal agreements and paperwork that has to take place before the switch over can happen.