Conditions for Solar electricity generating in Alberta range somewhere between very good and stunningly excellent. Alberta is nearly twice the size of Germany (current world leader and example of Solar excellence) and we also have nearly twice the solar energy being shone upon us every day for every square inch of land. Yet they have 18,000 times more solar power installed than we do. See that slightly darker orange zone around the north saskatchewan river? We’re right in the middle of that solar gold mine.
We have always relied on scientific data from the federal government to carefully calculate solar exposure, measure it and then design off that. However what we now know is that the entire area is so rich in solar resource that it almost doesn’t matter! We are bathed in sunlight all winter, and the cold temperatures make up for the shorter days. (Solar Panels work better in the cold due to higher efficiency, less heat generated).
Additionally to the days of sun we get, we have a lot of available land overall. We have an overabundance of roofspace facing east south and west which is perfect for solar and we lack serious shading issues in most areas because we are wide open spaces without a lot of crazy hills and small mountains.
Solar works well enough on our cloudy days that year on year we get enough power from the sun that if we wanted to we could power Germany directly.
Bottom line, in the Edmonton area (and in most of the province) if you can face solar panels anywhere from East all the way around to south or West you have good reason to be generating your own power.