CALGARY -- Electricity generation in Calgary will be a bit greener this summer thanks to an innovative project at the city's largest shopping centre.

ENMAX Power and Cadillac Fairview Chinook Centre have agreed on a plan to install a number of solar panels on the roof of the mall to enable two-way flow onto a specialized secondary network.

The pilot program is expected to solve an important issue that affects electricity grids throughout North America.

"This innovative solution will help remove technical and financial barriers to distributed generation, giving residential and commercial customers in urban settings more choice in how they generate and use electricity while building resiliency of the grid," ENMAX wrote in a release.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government says renewable energy sources, such as solar power, are "a huge economic opportunity" for Alberta as well as communities across the country.

"Canadians have the ingenuity, determination and work ethic to seize this opportunity and build a low-emissions energy future that gets us to net zero," said Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan in a release.

ENMAX says it is the first utility company in Canada to come up with a solution to the "complex technical challenge."

The installation will take place during the summer and ENMAX will collect data about the system once it is connected in order to perfect the technology before it can be introduced to other customers.