Keith Stewart, a climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada,spoke with The Star's editorial board Tuesday, July 19, 2011.
Photograph by: NICK BRANCACCIO, The Windsor Star
By Kristie Pearce, The Windsor StarJuly 20, 2011
With a provincial election looming, Greenpeace is questioning Tory Leader Tim Hudak's commitment to renewable energy.
"Hudak has said he's pro green energy," Keith Stewart, climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace, told a meeting of The Star's editorial board Tuesday. "We would like to see how he would actually get green energy built."
Greenpeace supports the Liberal government's feedin-tariff program introduced in 2009, but Stewart said some of the projected costs of their renewable energy programs are too high.
"NDP and Conservatives say they like green energy, they just don't like the way we're doing it," Stewart said, adding Greenpeace would like to see the opposition strategies in investing in renewable energy.
The Conservatives have made rising electricity bills a major theme this election, blaming the increases on green energy. However, Stewart said the price increases came from long neglect of the province's power infrastructure.
"The primary thing driving the price increase right now is a need to rebuild the system because we went for a decade without investing in it," he said.
David Suzuki and Premier Dalton McGuinty take a stroll in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Wednesday. Suzuki is urging Ontarians to re-elect McGuinty this fall to save the Liberals' “groundbreaking” green energy policies.
CHRISTINE MCAVOY/FOR THE TORONTO STAR
David Suzuki, Canada’s most famous environmentalist, is urging Ontarians to re-elect Premier Dalton McGuinty this fall to save the Liberals’ “groundbreaking” green energy policies.
In an exclusive interview with the Star, Suzuki made a rare foray into partisan politics, warning it is “absolute insanity” for Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak to want to scrap wind and solar power initiatives that the Tories claim are too expensive.
“I don’t get it, because it’s a job creator — I would have thought that the Conservatives would be banging away at the need to create jobs,” the host of CBC’s The Nature of Things said during a stroll with McGuinty in Stanley Park on Wednesday.
“Ontario right now is a leader in North America. Why would anybody come in and throw that out the window? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Suzuki expressed concern at Hudak’s pledge to kill the “feed-in tariff” subsidy program that promotes green electricity generation by enabling farmers and other producers to sell hydro, wind, and solar power to the grid.
The Tories, who lead in public-opinion polls, blame McGuinty’s Green Energy Act and the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax for rising hydro bills.
If they win the Oct. 6 election, they would also scrap the 25-year, $437-million deal with Samsung that should see the South Korean firm invest $7 billion in Ontario.
“I don’t know what Mr. Hudak’s idea is, but energy costs are going to rise in the future,” Suzuki said, noting demand is only increasing with new household electronics and, eventually, widespread use of electric cars.
“I’m offering an endorsement of what Mr. McGuinty has done, absolutely. This is a great plan. Any party would be foolish to talk about abandoning it,” he said, noting the David Suzuki Foundation works closely with the government on promoting energy conservation.
Suzuki also hailed McGuinty for enacting a pesticide ban and for his work on protecting the boreal forest, though he chided the premier for continuing Ontario’s reliance on nuclear power and for refusing to implement a carbon tax.
The premier, for his part, said he was “really honoured” by Suzuki’s endorsement on the eve of the Council of the Federation meeting of provincial and territorial leaders here.
“This has been a challenge for us in some parts of Ontario so when David lends his support to our initiatives it’s very meaningful,” he said.
“Just as we’re the number one auto producer in North America, I’ve got this vision for us to be a powerful player in the North American economy. You want wind turbines? Nobody makes them better than we do in Ontario. You want solar panels? We’ve got the expertise, we’ve got the manufacturing capacity.”
The Liberals hope to create 50,000 green energy jobs by the end of next year. So far, about 13,000 jobs are up and running.
While Suzuki, who grew up in London, Ont., lives in British Columbia, he took a break from his summer vacation to come back to Vancouver to meet with McGuinty.
“I’m very, very admiring of what he’s done,” said the man who finished fifth in CBC’s 2004 nationwide search for The Greatest Canadian, behind Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox, Pierre Trudeau and Sir Frederick Banting.
“I live about half my time in Ontario and I still think of myself as an Ontario guy.”
That’s why he felt it was important to inject himself into an election that will be closely fought by McGuinty, Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
“The big thing to me is the Green Energy Act,” said Suzuki.
“It has created jobs. For me it says we’ve got a future that’s bright with job creation and we can drop our dependence on fossil fuels.”
Richard Monk has learned a lot about Ontario politics since he joined a Spanish solar panel manufacturer lured by the Liberal government’s lucrative green energy program to open a factory in Windsor.
Having just opened in May, Siliken Group announced last week it was planning to lay off most of its 120 workers, citing a sales slump the company blamed on a Tory promise to kill the province’s subsidized green energy program if the party takes power Oct. 6, as polls suggest it is poised to do.
“They have affected sales, they have frightened new customers as well as existing customers, they have confused the public and they seem to be anti-environmental,” said Mr. Monk, Siliken’s production manager in Windsor.
Down the road from where Siliken had set up shop in a former auto parts factory, solar panel retailer Certified Solar was experiencing an entirely different fallout from the Conservatives’ pre-election promise: A surge in sales, as customers look to lock in to 20-year solar contracts at generous rates before the Tories can kill the program.
“That’s the big incentive. Whenever there is a sense of urgency, sales tend to increase,” manager Craig O’Brien said. “People wanted to get involved before the program ends.”
The province’s green energy sector is shaping up to be ground zero in the fall election, as both parties stake their reputation on the success or failure of the program, known as feed-in-tariff because it pays above-market rates to feed wind, solar and other renewable energy into the electrical grid.
The most recent poll has the Conservatives 11 percentage points ahead of the Liberals, and few are willing to bet the program will survive, and that is wreaking havoc within the industry.
The Liberal government is pushing the program as a way to kickstart Ontario’s struggling manufacturing sector with what energy minister Brad Duguid said is $20-billion in new investment and 13,000 new jobs since it was introduced two years ago — although the government’s goal was 50,000 jobs.
“We’re very happy and proud of the program; our opponents are going to get rid of it and that’s going to be a major distinction” during the election, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told the National Post.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, are attacking the feedin-tariff program as a costly job-killer that drives up electricity rates through long-term price guarantees that in some cases promise more than 10 times the market price for electricity.
“They’ve created a gold rush that everyone wants to get rich on,” said John Yakabuski, the Conservative energy critic as he stood in front of a lemonade stand the party had set up on the lawn of Queen’s Park to hand out cheap lemonade he said was made from subsidized lemons. “If they announce tomorrow that they’re going to pay $7 a dozen for eggs, I suspect a lot of people are going to be investing in laying hens. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be good for the people buying eggs in the supermarket.”
Green energy has become so politicized that the Canadian Solar Industry Association set up a booth at the recent Ontario PC convention in Toronto in hopes of wooing some Tories.
“We received a lot of positive comments. A lot of people were very knowledgeable about solar,” said association president Elizabeth McDonald. “I believe that’s the reality of the situation. But this is not a platform that’s based on renewable energy and solar. This is a platform based on critical pocketbook issues.”
Launched in 2009, the feed-in-tariff program offers largescale wind farms and solar power generators as much as 71.3¢ per kilowatt hour (enough power to light a 100-watt bulb for 10 hours), well above the going rate of 6.5¢ per kilowatt hour on Ontario’s energy market. Most contracts are guaranteed for 20 years.
The costs are buried in a premium on monthly hydro bills that makes up the difference between the market price for electricity and the rates promised through long-term contracts with generators. The cost of those contracts has risen sharply in recent years, from $654-million in 2005 to $3.8-billion last year, although much of the increase has come from contracts with nuclear, natural gas and other major power producers.
But with only a fraction of the nearly 8,000 proposed feed-in-tariff projects up and running, with most set to begin two to three years from now, critics say the costs could quickly escalate.
A separate microFIT program for small generators, such as homeowners with rooftop solar panels, offers rates as high as 80.2¢ per kilowatt hour. Killing the program will end up hurting consumers by shutting out homeowners, churches, schools and community groups that hope to make some money off generating their own power, said Kristopher Stevens, executive director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association.
The Conservatives say the program is not benefitting struggling homeowners, but instead attracting profit-seeking businesses such as a company advertising free barns to farmers in exchange for the rights to install solar panels on the roof and sell the power.
“You might want to check where these panels are,” Mr. Yakabuski said. “They’re not on the struggling senior homeowners home.”
The renewable energy industry itself has been openly talking about sweeping changes to the program, including a price reduction. “Everybody knows that the program could use improvement and everybody knew that it couldn’t keep on pumping out contracts at the same volume and the same pricing forever,” said Dan Gormley, who leads the green energy practice at Toronto law firm Goodmans LLP. “It was always going to have to evolve over time. But I don’t really understand why the Tories have simply come out and said it’s got to be killed altogether.”
The program is set for a price review this year, although Mr. Duncan said in an interview that the government has no plans to lower prices ahead of the October election. “Over time those rates will come down,” he said. “It’s something we’ll watch and we want to make sure the policy achieves its goals.”
This report examines how scaling back Ontario's plans to develop renewable energy would affect electricity prices, using an integrated energy system simulator to compare two main scenarios.
The first scenario is based on Ontario's current Long-Term Energy Plan, in which a large part of new electricity generation comes from additional renewable capacity supported under the Green Energy Act; the second scenario tests the effect of eliminating the Act and largely expanding natural gas in place of future renewable resources.
Behind the switch: pricing Ontario electricity options finds that Ontario consumers would see virtually no relief from high electricity prices if the province cancelled its support for renewable energy under the Green Energy Act.
In fact, the study indicates that investing in renewable energy today is likely to save Ontario ratepayers money within the next 15 years, as natural gas becomes more expensive and as the cost of renewable energy technology continues to decrease.
Published On Wed Jul 06 2011John SpearsBusiness Reporter
Ontario electricity prices are heading higher with or without controversial renewable energy contracts, says a study by the green-leaning Pembina Institute.
The study, released Wednesday, says the relatively high prices paid to wind, solar and biogas power producers under Ontario’s feed-in tariff program, or FIT, are being blamed unfairly for rising power prices.
Even if no more FIT contracts are signed, the study says, the outlook for rising prices doesn’t change much — because the alternatives are no cheaper.
“Prices are going up, and in some ways people need to know that’s inevitable, whichever path one chooses,” says Tim Weis of the Pembina Institute. “There’s no silver bullet to bringing prices down.”
The FIT program would never add more than 1.5 per cent, or about $2 a month, to the typical consumer hydro bill, the study contends.
Curbing renewables produces lower bills until about 2025, the study says; after that, prices are likely to be cheaper with more renewable power in the system.
The issue is likely to be a hot one in this October’s provincial election. The Conservatives have vowed to end the FIT program, calling it “unsustainable.” The Liberals are firmly committed to pushing for more green power.
FIT contracts pay 13.5 cents a kilowatt hour for onshore wind power, an average of 52.5 cents a kilowatt hour for solar power, and 13 cents for hydro.
The key questions if the FIT program is halted in its tracks, says Weis, are: What will replace it? And at what cost?
The Pembina study says natural gas generation will pick up the slack if renewables are curbed. While gas prices have tumbled since 2009 with the discovery of massive shale gas deposits in North America, the study warns that won’t last. Resistance to the environmental damage caused by shale gas extraction may limit production.
Meanwhile, demand for gas could spiral as the U.S. shuts down more coal-burning plants and replaces them with gas-fired units.
The study also assumes some form of carbon tax or carbon pricing regime will come into play in the medium term. And it notes that emissions regulations are already being introduced on U.S. gas generators, and Canada will probably follow suit.
Meanwhile, the price of renewables will likely drop, the study says. The price of solar panels, for example, is falling steadily as more manufacturers join the sector.
Ontario also plans to review the price of new FIT contracts, with an eye to reducing them, later this year — assuming the Liberals are still in power.
Other factors are at play in driving prices higher, including expensive overhauls and additions slated for Ontario’s nuclear plants, and major upgrades looming at Hydro One and local utilities to modernize their transmission systems.
Those costs are coming no matter what kind of power is being produced.
“If it’s going to cost us roughly the same price, it seems to make a lot more sense to be investing money in cleaner renewable energy going forward than placing our bets on a volatile price of gas,” says Weis.
Eclipsall Energy to open Toronto solar panel plant
TORONTO
Eclipsall Energy Corp. is opening a manufacturing facility in Toronto to make solar panels for Ontario’s growing clean energy sector, with plans to expand across the North American market in 2012.
The plant is expected to create 100 new jobs by the end of this summer and an additional 200 jobs by early 2012. The solar panels produced at the plant are expected to generate enough electricity each year to power about 25,000 homes.
Ontario’s Green Energy Act is expected to create 50,000 clean energy jobs by the end of 2012. Over 13,000 jobs have already been created as a result of Ontario’s plan, the government says.
Ontario has the largest solar capacity online of any jurisdiction in Canada and is home to the 10 largest solar farms in Canada. Since 2009, more than 30 Ontario businesses have announced they are setting up or expanding plants to manufacture parts for the solar and wind industry.
On July 4, 2011, the OPA announced it will offer contracts to 25 new large-scale renewable energy projects, representing 1,046 MW of capacity.
There are 19 wind projects and six solar projects. A list of these new renewable energy projects can be found here.
It is estimated that these projects will provide enough electricity to power more than 280,000 homes or a community the size of Windsor each year. These projects will create about 5,000 jobs and help attract approximately $3 billion in new private-sector investment to the province.
These contract offers represent projects that are enabled by the new Bruce to Milton transmission line. Projects on the priority ranking list in the Bruce and West of London areas were offered an opportunity to change their connection point and were then assessed for transmission availability. The process for allocating the capacity is outlined here.
Published On Mon Jul 04 2011 John SpearsBusiness Reporter
Canada’s electricity sector needs to face up more strongly to environmental challenges such as increasing carbon emissions, says an advisory panel to the Canadian Electricity Association.
And the independent panel, headed by former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt, also warns that the industry’s thirst for capital to renew its aging equipment may bring it into conflict with cities raising money to rebuild crumbling roads and sewers.
Meanwhile, the association itself says that it needs some help from governments and regulators to align their policies more closely. The association represents utilities, marketers and suppliers for the electricity industry.
In its annual sustainability report, the association notes that carbon emissions rose 0.9 per cent in 2010.
In a letter published with the report, Harcourt’s panel called the increase “troubling,” given that electricity production had actually decreased 3 per cent during the year.
“Panel members are concerned about the slow progress of the electricity sector on greenhouse gas emission reductions,” the letter said.
“ In this respect, we urge the electricity industry to more aggressively engage its customers about the new approaches and technologies that will be needed to mitigate investment risk and enhance industry sustainability.”
The association notes in its report that since electricity facilities have long life cycles, change take time. But it says investment in new technology will have a “profound” impact on the environment in the future.
Ontario has pledged to close its last coal-burning plants, which emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, by 2014.
They’re being replaced in part by renewable sources like wind and solar power, which don’t in themselves produce emissions, but are backed up by natural gas-fired generators.
Energy minister Brad Duguid announced 25 new solar and wind projects Monday, to be built in western Ontario. The projects will be connected to markets by a new transmission line that won’t be in service until the end of 2012.
Harcourt’s panel also drew attention to the power sector’s need for massive amounts of capital.
The association figures $220 billion should be invested in the system over the next 20 years to ensure a safe and reliable grid; the Conference Board of Canada has estimated the need at $290 billion.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities says its members need $120 billion over a similar timeframe to renew roads, bridges, sewers and water lines.
Investment is also needed in highways and ports, the panel notes.
“These enormous cost projections suggest to Panel members that Canadian governments, industry and society must re-examine status quo approaches to future infrastructure development and investment needs,” the panel says.
Pierre Guimond, president of the electricity association, said in an interview that the industry sometimes get caught between the wishes of politicians and regulators.
“The vendors go to the politicians and say: See this wonderful equipment we have,” he said.
Politicians then pressure utilities to buy that equipment, he said. It then turns out that all future purchases have to be made from the same supplier, he said, and that leads to long term operating issues for the system.
“You have to take a longer term view, and sometimes the longer term view doesn’t necessarily match up with the political short term.”
McGuinty Government Builds Clean Energy Economy As Ontario Continues To Turn The Corner
Ontario's clean energy economy continues to grow, creating 5,000 new jobs.
Through Ontario's clean energy Feed-in Tariff program, 25 new large-scale renewable energy projects - solar and wind - will provide enough electricity to power more than 280,000 homes or a community the size of Windsor each year. These projects will also help attract approximately $3 billion in new private-sector investment to the province.
These projects will be brought online through the Bruce to Milton reinforcement project, Ontario's largest transmission project in 20 years. The projects will be located in Southwestern Ontario along the Bruce to Milton transmission line, including Tiverton, Woodstock, Strathroy, Seaforth, Paisley and Zurich. So far, more than 2,000 mid-size and large-scale Feed-in Tariff projects have been announced, representing enough electricity each year to power about 900,000 homes.
Ontario is replacing dirty, coal-fired plants with clean, renewable energy like water, wind, solar and bio-energy. This is part of the McGuinty government's plan to keep costs down for families today, while building a clean, modern and reliable electricity system for tomorrow.
Ontario's Green Energy Act is on track to create 50,000 clean energy jobs by the end of 2012. As a result of our actions, over 13,000 jobs have already been created.
QUICK FACTS
The FIT contract offers consist of 14 wind projects in the Bruce area totalling 750 megawatts (MW). In the area west of London there are five wind projects totalling 268.4 MW and six solar wind projects totalling 27.5 MW.
Thousands of Ontarians are participating in the microFIT program, with over 10,000 projects already connected or ready to connect.
At peak construction, 450 people will be working on the Bruce to Milton transmission project.
Since 2009, more than 30 businesses have announced they are setting up or expanding plants in Ontario to manufacture parts for the solar and wind industries.
Re: Green Energy Act didn't create jobs, letter to the editor by Eric Renaud, June 14.
I think it is important for Windsorites to have the facts so they can make their own educated decisions regarding renewable energy and the positive impact it is having, not only on the environment, but Ontario's economy.
I can assure you that our companies (OYA Solar, OYA Energy and Polar Racking) alone collectively employ more than the 27 jobs Mr. Renaud claims have been created.
In fact, the most recent numbers our industry has collected peg that number around 18,000.
Siliken, OYA Solar, OYA Energy, Polar Racking, Schletter, Algatec and CS Wind are just a few of the dozens of companies employing hundreds of Windsorites that are here, not just to supply the Ontario market, but also the growing global export market.
Today, OYA Solar and Polar Racking are selling products and projects in the U.S., Africa, India and Bangladesh, all from our Windsor-based headquarters.
In fact, a recent study shows every $1 million in government spending on renewable energy creates 17 jobs, versus only five in oil and gas, or 11 in military and auto manufacturing. Here is the link to that information http: //t.co/y2Kp7xe.
The intent of the Green Energy Act is almost identical to many of Ontario's other pioneering industry-creating legislative acts.
For example, the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact in 1965 increased auto exports to the U.S. from seven per cent to 60 per cent in just three years, translating to a vibrant 45-year domestic industry which paved the way for Windsor to be dubbed Canada's automotive capital.
I say "almost" because, unlike the Auto Pact, the Green Energy Act does more than just create jobs and long-term investment, it provides us energy security from sustainable sources and it cleans up our air.
Ontarians need to understand how we actually pay for power to understand why the Green Energy Act makes sense.
Yes, Ontario has a stable base load of nuclear and hydroelectric power, but many of us don't realize that our peak electricity demands are sometimes bought on the spot market for prices in excess of $2/kWh.
The Independent Electricity System Operator publishes this hourly pricing and demand data every day on its website (www.ieso.ca).
Last week, the IESO paid $2.78/kWh for peak electricity demand. Here is the weblink to see for yourself http: //alturl. com/uo4wd.
We don't see this in our bills because our government levels that cost and smoothes it out to an average. However, it doesn't mean that we don't pay for it.
If we built 10 times the amount of solar contracts offered in the past two years, we would still not come close to touching Ontario's peak demand.
Finally, with all this talk of government subsidies, what exactly are we talking about?
The Green Energy Act offers a producer of renewable energy a fixed price (which is much lower than the spot market) under a standard non-negotiable contract to sell power to the grid for the next 20 years.
There are no upfront moneys for capital equipment, tax breaks or financing; the producer assumes all the risk of building and connecting the system himself.
In doing so, the government can reduce stress on an aging and antiquated grid, generate power directly at the point of use with no transmission losses and effectively reduce its need to upgrade or replace equipment as more localized energy is installed.
The only subsidy I see is the one these renewable producers are providing to the government and people of Ontario.
People need to start hearing the truth: Buying solar power for $0.44 to $0.80/kWh provides us more reliable power, creates a new long-term industry that would enjoy Auto Pact type longevity, benefits our environment and actually saves the province money.
The rest of the world recognizes this. It's about time we do the same and secure our own future.
Manish Nayar is a managing partner at OYA Solar in Windsor. Twitter: @oyasolar
By installing 3,790 solar panels on three of its Ontario stores, IKEA will generate about 960,000 kilowatt hours of “clean” energy per year, enough to power about 100 homes.
But IKEA’s project won’t just earn it kudos for being a good corporate citizen – the furniture retailer is also earning a new revenue stream. The company will be paid for its solar energy by the Ontario Power Authority through the province’s new feed-in tariff program.
The FIT program was established in 2009 to boost the province’s green energy industry. It works like this: Power producers get premium rates for generating “clean” energy, provided they use Ontario-made equipment and labour. For example, the tariff pays 44 to 80 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from solar installations, a rate far better than the wholesale price for electricity, which is about four cents per kilowatt hour. Once a contract is approved, it’s guaranteed for 20 years.
Since the FIT program came into being, dozens of solar development companies like AMP Solar Group have sprung up to take advantage of the favourable rates. “Ontario’s feed-in tariff is probably the most aggressive in the world, and has truly created the hottest renewable energy market in the world,” said Dave Rogers, chief executive officer of Port Credit, Ont.-based AMP.
These programs can make things too hot, however. Spain has dramatically scaled back its FIT program because of the costs involved, and if Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives secure power in the fall, leader Tim Hudak promises to cancel the program.
Under Ontario’s program, contracts can be handled in two ways. If the building owner provides the capital for the purchase and installation of solar panels, they also own the revenue stream from the OPA. (This was the case with the IKEA project, which cost the retailer $4.6-million to implement.)
Alternatively, a building owner can lease roof space to a solar development company, which will raise the financing to purchase and install the panels. In this case, the development company gets the FIT revenue and the building owner gets rent payments. It’s a model favoured by Windsor, Ont. company Solar Power Network.
“(Building owners) don’t have to worry about how much power we’re generating, or what kind of panels we’re using, or what our deal is with the Ontario Power Authority,” said Peter Goodman, CEO of Solar Power Network. “They’re literally getting paid to be green, because I’m renting their rooftop.” Mr. Goodman estimates a typical commercial or industrial building would receive about $25,000 in rent per year for the use of a roof.
While steady rental income can be an appealing incentive, sometimes it’s the roofs themselves that benefit from the deal. For example, AMP, in partnership with Potentia Solar, recently won a contract to put solar panels on 450 Toronto District School Board roofs.
As part of the deal, AMP is giving the board all of its rent money upfront so the TDSB can pay for new roofs before the panels go on.
Because the FIT program is still very new, it remains to be seen whether it will be embraced by every Ontario company with a roof. Mr. Goodman said that selling the idea of a 20-year lease to building owners has been tougher than developers expected.
“Many owners are reluctant to make a 20-year lease commitment,” he said. “They want to always have access to do maintenance, and they worry about impairing future building sale potential.”
Many mid-sized and private building owner groups have embraced the program, but larger groups have been slower to make a decision, Mr. Rogers said. “But the expectation is that they intend to make up a big piece of the second wave of the program,” he said.
The Canadian Solar Industries Association announced last week that $1.8-billion of private money has been invested in Ontario solar projects to date, with total investments expected to reach $11.4-billion by 2018.
For its part, AMP Solar has completed 14 projects since the program began in 2009, and it has contracts for 650 more over the next few years, which will account for more than 20 million square feet of rooftop area. Solar Power Network has not yet completed any projects, but is working on 34 and has an additional 120 awaiting approval by the OPA.
But hovering over all of this potential green energy is the spectre of the upcoming provincial election. And even if the conservatives aren’t elected, the FIT program is due to be reviewed in the fall, and tariff rates are expected to drop. If the incentives disappear, so might the solar development companies. In Spain and Germany, government spending cuts put a chill on the solar industry.
“A lot of jobs have been created, a lot of investment has come into the province, especially in a province where manufacturing has declined,” said Mr. Rogers. “We want the renewable energy market to stay in the province and we’re hopeful that it will.”
How it works
Although solar-panel layouts are tailored to each rooftop, some roofs are more desirable than others, says Dave Rogers, chief executive officer of AMP Solar Group.
The idea is 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of flat surface, with little foot traffic, Mr. Rogers says. But that's only 10 per cent of what's out there. “The biggest factor is the condition of the roof and its structural capacity. We figure out where the roof is in its life, and if the roof is solar-ready, we just put solar panels on. In most cases it will require some roof work, and we'll pay for that.”
Once the roof is ready to go, solar panels are installed. They are weighted by ballast to keep them in place – the company tries to avoid making holes in the roof to prevent leaks, and this also makes the panels easily removable in case the building owner needs to make roof repairs.
The panels are then connected to a junction box, and power is fed into the city's main grid. The amount of energy produced is metered and, for the next 20 years, the panels collect energy with very little maintenance. A 17,000-square-foot building – similar to IKEA's store in Vaughan, Ont. – would generate about 320,000 kilowatt hours per year, or enough to power 33 homes.
Some companies are experimenting with ways to utilize smaller roofs of 10,000 square feet or less. For instance, Solar Power Network installs panels almost flat, at a 5-degree angle (traditionally panels are positioned at a 30-degree angle to capture the most sunlight). The flatter a panel is, the less ballast it requires, and so this plan is suitable for smaller buildings with more load restrictions.
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