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This Month's Issue:
Innovation Tech in St. Albert |
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Solar farm, Source: WikiMedia Commons: user OhWeh
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Solar energy efficiency has skyrocketed in the past few years, as has the decline in its price; whereas in 2002 the International Energy Agency forecasted that global solar capacity would be around 10GW in 2020, the current capacity in 2017 is well over 200GW, and is expected to double in the next few years. In 2015 alone, over 50 GW worth of solar panels were shipped. Even with these optimistic numbers, the question still remains - is going solar worth it yet?
Earlier this year, the City of St. Albert approved a project that would see the City's biggest public solar array built on the bus depot in Campbell Business Park. The City committed $500,000.00 to build the solar array, and once operational, it will generate about 250 kWh of electricity (about 20% of the facility's power use). Despite the large cost of the array, a grant from the Province of Alberta will cover 20% of the cost, while the remaining 80% will eventually be recovered through energy savings over the panels' lifetime of 25 years - this goes to show that going solar today can indeed be worth it.
With this in mind, determining the long-term economics of having solar power can be assessed by using the "Levelized Cost of Electricity," or "LCOE." This is usually calculated when getting a quote from a Solar Energy Contractor who will be able to provide an estimate of how much energy the system will generate per year, which can then be compared with estimated energy prices over time to estimate the value of the energy being produced - the cost of the system is then divided by this energy production estimate to determine the system's value. In most cases - especially with the new solar rebate program - the end result is that over the 25-30 year lifetime of a solar panel array, the system will pay for itself and end up generating additional money in the form of energy savings. You can contact a solar contractor today to find out how much your business would save in the long run by going solar.
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Upcoming Events
August 11
August 17
Sept 13
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Event Recap: Futurists Forecast Big Changes at Inaugural Innovation Summit
Partnering with NABI, the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, and Athabasca University, the City of St. Albert was proud to host the first St. Albert Innovation Summit on June 28th, 2017. The event brought over 180 guests from across our City and the Capital Region to the Arden Theatre in downtown St. Albert, with participants focused on discussing innovation, collaboration, and the societal changes we are confronted with as technology continues to advance exponentially.
The Summit was both informational for guests and the organizers, a truly collaborative environment that followed one of the main themes of the event. Guests were exposed to two keynote addresses: The first given by Jim Gibson discussing the Rainforest Initiative: a program supporting the innovation ecosystem, and developing the collaborative environment of the province. The afternoon keynote was delivered by award winning science fiction author Madeline Ashby, who spoke about the upcoming societal disruptions that emergingtechnologies will bring. In between these keynotes were numerous 'Pecha Kucha' style presentations, where guests were exposed to new ideas and concepts, and challenged to think about the repercussions. Among these, the presentation given by Paul Godsmark, CTO of the Canadian Automated Vehicle Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE) stood out: from discussing Moore's Law and the rapid increase in technological progress, to seeing the timeline on the uptake of the original automobile, Paul gave attendees a small glimpse at transportation methods to come, and he would say "sooner than we all think".
These presentations were effective at generating new ideas among attendees, and several gained broad support in the post summit survey. These include: implementing a "Community Innovation Council" that would incorporate individuals from multiple sectors to advise on and support innovative initiatives in the City, an integrated "Smart City" communications strategy that lists any potential opportunities that the community should prepare for, and creating policy that establishes the City as a "living lab" for testing and commercialization.
The success of the Summit means organizers are planning for it to be a yearly endeavor: 90% of respondents in the post-summit survey requested that Summit be hosted at least annually, with around 20% of these requesting even more frequent events. The thirst for knowledge, networking, and innovation is strong in the community, and these are the first steps to a truly innovative environment. A formal summary of the event can be found here.
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Easy Ways to Use 360 Degree Footage to Elevate Your Retail Business
Why are 360 degree photos/videos important for any modern business?
There are many ways to use this footage, including:
- Raising the profile of your business to prospective new customers
- Bringing attention to new products, new retail spaces, or renovations
- Showcasing the ambiance of your business
- Giving an idea of the size, scale, and presence of products.
How Do I Get Started?
To create 360 degree footage, you can use either a newer model mobile phone, but it's recommended that you use a tool that is made for the job. Popular consumer model 360 cameras include the
Samsung Gear 360 and the
Ricoh Theta S.
Where Can I Use this Footage?
First of all, you should download the
Google Street View app (
Google Play,
Apple Store). This will allow you to upload your business directly to Google Maps. Once you do this, anybody searching for your business can see photos of the interior and exterior, which may be enough to entice customers to visit your store from a further distance and it will increase your profile.
Now, if you have a business website (and you should!), you can upload your content to an embedding platform such as
360Player or if you are web savvy enough,
Google's VR View .
If you are using
Facebook, you can upload 360 photos and video the same way you would upload any photo or video. Facebook has built-in support for this format and will display your content appropriately. This is a great way to drive engagement to your Facebook company page and raise awareness of new products to your followers and potential customers.
With your 360 video, you can use also upload it to
YouTube and its built-in support will automatically format your content appropriately.
Using either social media channel, you can also view the videos with a virtual reality headset, such as the entry-level
Samsung Gear VR, to the high-end powerhouse
HTC Vive for added immersion.
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| Rockland Landscaping Supplies |
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Perron Business District Citizens' Academy - Classes in Aug and September
St. Albert Community Policing & Crime Prevention Unit have initiated what is sure to be a successful program Citizens' Academy. Offering Perron Business Owners; Managers; Staff and Volunteers the opportunity to learn about their local police service, municipal enforcement service and community and social development services (formerly FCSS). There is a lot of enthusiasm to have people from our downtown district attend and be able to field their questions and to talk about challenges and successes from the RCMP, Municipal Enforcement Services and community perspectives.
Classes are interactive and include popular topics as seen as concerns raised by the Perron District Business Owners, Tenants and Staff.
Course materials will be provided and topics will include:
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
- Municipal Bylaws - Responding to the Downtown
- Crime Reduction: Intelligence lead approach to policing, and
- Community & Social Development - Community Connections
Course size is limited to 24 participants and we encourage people to register early, with no less than 12 candidates to run the sessions.
Classes are from 6:00PM to 6:45 PM on the following dates:
- August 23
- August 30
- September 6
- September 13
Deadline to register is August 2, 2017
This is a community driven initiative to better understanding crime, prevention and the reporting model for successful prosecution and investigation. Through our community connections and relationship building we strive to increase inter business communication and dialogue.
For more information and to register, please contact
or call (780) 399-2746
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2017 Capital Region Municipal Golf Tournament -
Registration and/or Sponsorship Opportunities Available Now
The City of St. Albert is pleased to be hosting the
2017 Capital Region Municipal Golf Tournament on
August 24, 2017. The theme for this event will be
"Celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary", and proceeds will be in support of
Valour Place.
Valour Place is a temporary home away from home for all Canadian Forces members, RCMP, Families of the Fallen, Veterans and First Responders along with their families who require medical treatment in Edmonton, and live outside the city/area.
This tournament offers a unique opportunity to network with elected officials and senior administrators of 24 municipalities in the Capital Region.
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YOUR LOGO HERE -- Capital Region Golf Sponsorship Opportunities Available Now
Starting from $350
Get your business in front of political and business leaders in the Capital region! We are also accepting prize donations.
If you or your business would like to get involved with this event, please contact Harold Pacheco (via e-mail, Ph: 780-459-1630).
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BE A STAR! Call for Models for 2017 St. Albert Marketing Video/Photo Shoot
Casting Call - August 3, 11 AM - 1 PM
We are looking for residents to "model" at our city's favourite hot spots, and sell the energy and vibrancy of our community. No previous experience necessary!
If you are interested, please attend our
Model Casting Call on
August 3 at PlanIt Sound Inc (44 Riel Dr). This meeting will be used to determine availability.
Shooting will be on location, and occur for a week beginning
August 9 and ending August 16
. Dates and times are subject to change.
For more information, and to register for the Casting Call
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Some great ideas are born out of envy, some are born out of expertise, and some are born from a genuine need. The best are born of all three, and Eric and Stephanie Roberge have an entertainment option that needs to be experienced to be believed.
Though the couple were working as commercial electricians in the Capital Region, their passion was for gaming.
"We're enthusiasts," Eric says with a knowing grin. The couple was very excited when advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technology opened the door for entirely new experiences; they quickly went out and purchased their own system to use at home. "Eric kept knocking things over in real life. The worst was when he caught his hand in the ceiling fan!" Stephanie tells us, as the couple quickly discovered that, though this new technology was exciting, it still had several pitfalls. They began searching for external options: other VR arcades existed, but none satisfied their needs, with poor audio quality, questionably sanitary equipment, and cramped spaces. They longed for opportunities like those existing in Asia, where VR Gaming has advanced to the level of spectator sport. That is where the adventure began, as the electricians put their hard-earned skills to use and have made St. Albert home to one of the premier VR Arcades in the nation.
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The large rooms allow for plenty of physical movement and properly convey a futuristic atmosphere |
Game OVR, located in Sturgeon Plaza, is the full Virtual Reality Entertainment experience, boasting the largest game rooms in the country, along with the ability to host multiplayer experiences and mixed reality, where the player's image is also transposed into the game. Guests simply rent a gaming room at an hourly rate, don the immersive head gear, and step into a new world. Renting the room gives you access to all the content available, from slicing fruit with ninja swords to diffusing bombs as a secret agent. Party rates are also available to rent out the entire venue.
For those who have never experienced Virtual Reality, Game OVR offers a cost accessible option to see what all the fuss is about. Those who might be concerned about vertigo shouldn't fear, as Stephanie explained "We were careful only to choose games that everyone is able to play. My mother has problems with fast-motion and is easily disoriented, so it was important to us to make it accessible for everyone. We use her as our guinea pig, and she is able to play all of the games." Eric also was happy to share that their clientele so far is not just from the "traditional gaming market", they have already had success with booking corporate events, and a 50th birthday party, "we even see higher uptake from females with this technology than from traditional gaming".
The technology is phenomenal, and truly needs to be experienced to be believed. Eric sees the technology expanding into other sectors, and Game OVR already has plans to get in front of these trends. "Hollywood is already trying to promote some movies with Virtual Reality companion advertising," Eric explains, but the most exciting for them is the education potential the technology has. "Studies show that kids retain experiential learning better than the classroom experience, however field trips are expensive! Imagine if we could make Magic School Bus-like experiences a reality, taking the kids to Rome, France, and Pluto in the same day, or showing them just how big the dinosaurs were in comparison to a person." Game OVR is already becoming certified for field trips, and hopes to expand in this area. "The best part is that they (kids) can go right into playing without any instruction, it's really so intuitive" Eric explains, before also pointing out that the same applies to technological luddites and the inexperienced as well.
As Virtual Reality technology expands and grows, we are sure to see many more applications enter our lives; from the living room to the operating room, the possibilities are endless. Eric and Stephanie are just happy that they've found a way to make their virtual dreams into a reality.
GameOVR
125-1 Hebert Road
780-953-4263
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New Businesses in St. Albert
Commercial/Industrial Businesses
Game OVR 780-953-4263
125-1 Hebert Road
Virtual Reality Entertainment Center
Morning Sun Health Foods Ltd. 780-569-2298
219-375 St Albert Trail
Health Foods Products
North West Veterinary Dermatology Services Ltd. 780-470-5100
105-975 St Albert Trail
Veterinary Dermatology Practice
Power House Dance Inc. 780-292-2553
113, 25 Chisholm Ave
Dance Instructions for Ages 3 to Adult
Softmoc Inc. 778-960-1107
375 St Albert Trail
Retail Foot Wear
Starbuds 587-336-5469
30-161 Liberton Drive
General Retail and Medical Services
The Atlantic Kitchen Restaurant OPENING SOON 780-263-0241
440 St Albert Trail
Restaurant
The Media Shop 780-231-9912
214-200 Carnegie Drive
Marketing Consulting, Website Design & Social Marketing Service
Home-Based Businesses
Alpha Security and Dog Patrol 780-917-7721
Security (Mobile Dog Patrol)
Fosty's Contracting Ltd. 780-554-5954
Home Maintenance and Service Repairs
Lashes by Katey 780-340-5283
Eyelash Extensions
Phealo's Mobile Massage 587-985-3528
Offers Mobile Therapeutic Massage and Relaxation Massage
RC Plumbing 780-458-4704
Plumbing and Gas Material
Scott Specialty Construction 780-399-6763
Deck, Fence, Renovation, Specialty Construction, General Contractor
St Albert Home Watch 780-908-5204
Home Watch Service
True Colors Designs 780-299-5252
Provision of Interior Design Services Including Painting Staying Decor
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Monthly Growth Stats
Single Family Housing Starts
Single Family Dwelling Resales
Building Permits Issued
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City of St. Albert | info@stalbert.ca
29 Sir Winston Churchill Avenue | St. Albert, AB | T8N 0G3 |
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