Posts Tagged ‘canada’

Dealers to Receive Training on Cutting-edge Photovoltaic Inverter Technology

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Calgary’s Sustainable Energy Technologies, Ltd. (Sustainable) and Listowal, Ontario’s Ideal Supply Company, Ltd. (Ideal) have jointly announced that Ideal has selected Sustainable’s SUNERGY(TM) photovoltaic inverter for its work in the Ontario solar energy industry.  Sustainable will begin to train Ideal dealers on the technical and sales aspects of its inverters in January.

Sustainable labels itself “Canada’s solar inverter company.”  Its SUNERGY (TM) inverters achieve high electrical conversion efficiency while they reduce operating voltages to levels that increase safety for homeowners and solar installers.  “Ideal selected the SUNERGY(TM) inverter for multiple factors,” says Tim Veal, Ideal’s Green Energy Specialist, “including its unique outdoor rating, low voltage safety factors, and its ability to deliver higher yields at a lower cost per watt than micro inverters.”

Ideal has operated in Ontario for more than eighty years as a distributor of electrical supplies and auto parts and has recently extended its reach into the realm of renewable energy.  The company, known as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, serves more than 1,000 contractors from twenty-six locations across Southwestern Ontario.  “Sustainable could not ask for a better partner to… roll out of the SUNERGY(TM) inverter in Ontario,” said Michael Carten, Sustainable’s CEO.  “Ideal Supply brings a deep understanding of the Ontario electrical products market along with a strong Ontario brand and experienced sales force.”

Ontario Solar Energy Industry Blossoms Thanks to FIT Programs

Ideal currently awaits its initial order of 125 kW worth of inverters from Sustainable, which it will market to Ontario’s rapidly-expanding solar energy industry.  The industry received a big boost at the end of 2009 when the provincial government began to offer its feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs.  The programs provide twenty-year contracts that guarantee lucrative rates to producers of solar, wind, and biomass energy who feed their projects into the power grid.  As of early last December, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) had executed 1,300 FIT and microFIT contracts.  The programs create green energy and jobs for graduates of photovoltaic training programs, and in a variety of support industries such as transportation and manufacturing.

The FIT and microFIT make Ontario an ideal place for solar companies to build and manufacture materials for green energy installations.  With Ideal’s help, Sustainable will take advantage of this booming market while it provides cutting-edge technology to solar installers across the province.

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New Utility Division to Encourage Renewable Energy and Create Jobs

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Brant County Power, Inc. (Brant Power), has created a new division called Brant Renewable Energy (Brant Renewable) to help the communities it serves take advantage of the benefits of Ontario’s feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs.  The new division will create clean air and renewable energy jobs in the towns of Burford, Paris, and St. George, and the City of Brantford.

Brant Power’s new division will bring the utility and the municipalities into the fold of Ontario’s Green Energy Hub, a coalition of communities dedicated to creating strategies to increase their capacity for solar, wind, and other forms of green power generation.

According to the utility’s CEO, Bruce Noble, Brant Renewable will initially focus on photovoltaic (PV) power.  Ontario is well-equipped for solar, as it is home to a number of manufacturers that serve the industry, such as Heliene, Inc. in Sault Saint Marie and Toronto’s Ontario Solar Academy – Canada’s first ISPQ-certified PV training program.

Solar Focus Will Require Trained and Certified PV Workers

According to Ruth Cooper, who consults for the new division, “Brant Renewable Energy will educate, advocate, and facilitate power from renewable sources.”  One thing Brant Renewable will “facilitate” is county citizens’ participation in the FIT, which pays high prices to producers of renewable energy who tie into the power grid, and the microFIT, which offers the same for projects of 10 kW and less.  The programs contain domestic content requirements that stipulate what percentage of labour and materials a project owner must source from within the province in order to be eligible.  These requirements add to the power of the FIT and microFIT by creating jobs in manufacturing and new career opportunities for graduates of solar PV and other renewable energy training and certification programs.  Brant Renewable will require workers in both of these sectors in order to meet its green goals.

“Changing ourselves to a green culture should allow us to be more healthy,” says Noble, who adds, “By driving conservation, it allows people to reduce costs.”  Together, Brant Renewables, the Green Energy Hub, and the FIT and microFIT programs will move the province into the future of energy production by removing pollution from the air and putting money into Ontarians’ pockets.

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Ontario to Add Two New Alternative Energy Projects to Green Economy

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Canadian Solar Solutions, Inc. (Canadian Solar Solutions), has signed an agreement with Sky Power, Ltd. (Sky Power), to add 18.5 MW of solar capacity to Ontario’s green economy.  The partners will build two new solar farms in Napanee and Thunder Bay that will collectively produce enough electricity to power nearly 33,000 homes and create potential careers for graduates of the province’s photovoltaic (PV) training courses.

Kitchener-based Canadian Solar Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar, Inc. (Canadian Solar), headquartered in the same city.  The parent company operates globally, while Canadian Solar Solutions handles the domestic market.  The companies specialize in “turnkey solar solutions for residential, commercial, and solar farm markets in Canada.”  Toronto’s Sky Power owns alternative energy projects in Canada and across the globe.  The company develops, manages, and finances projects “from the initial discovery stages through to commercial operation.”  Sky Power has agreed to engineer and construct the two new projects and has arranged financing through Germany’s Deutsche Bank.

Canadian Solar Solutions and Sky Power expect to complete the two new installations by mid-2011.  When finished, the Napanee and Thunder Bay projects will produce 10 MW and 8.5 MW of solar energy, respectively, per hour.

Alternative Energy Creates Industry, Careers in Ontario

Ontario has a vibrant and growing green economy that is energized by a feed-in tariff (FIT) program that pays producers of alternative energy premium rates for electricity they generate from sources such as solar, wind, and biomass.  The program creates clean energy, careers, and inspires training opportunities such as Ontario Solar Academy’s ISPQ-accredited solar PV courses.  Participating projects must meet minimum targets for domestic content for both materials and labour.  This provision keeps FIT money in the province and helps to build a stable foundation for the industry so that it survives the eventual conclusion of the program.

Canadian Solar plans to open a solar module manufacturing facility in Guelph that will help the company and other solar PV businesses in Ontario stay on course and meet the FIT’s domestic content requirements.  The company expects to complete the plant, which it estimates will employ about 500 people, by the middle of next year.

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St. Eugene Joins Ontario Solar Industry after Months of Delay

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Enfinity Canada has finally broken ground on a 30 MW solar project that will provide about 200 green jobs for workers in St. Eugene in the Ontario township of East Hawkesbury. The announcement follows a delay that project developers experienced as a result of local opposition to the project.

Enfinity Canada is a subsidiary of Belgium’s Enfinity. The companies specialize in photovoltaic (PV) development, and the parent company has done work for solar industries in twenty-one countries in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Enfinity originally scheduled construction of the site to begin in March, 2010, but opponents of the project attempted to shut it down through legal means. Now clear of that hurdle, the company is ready to begin work on the project. Enfinity is currently preparing the future site of the installation by fencing off the property, performing preliminary landscaping, and planning access roads. The company will begin erecting the solar panels in the spring of 2011 and expects to complete the project by September of the same year. Enfinity has hired twenty people for the initial stages of the project, and will provide many more green jobs once they are ready to erect the 140,000 panels in the spring.

Province Home to Solar Jobs, Training, Workshops

Ontario is home to North America’s first feed-in tariff (FIT) program for renewable energy, which pays high prices for electricity generated using solar, wind, and biomass power. The program creates an industry that includes green energy and jobs, as well as educational opportunities such as seminars, workshops, and solar panel design and installation courses, to help workers and property owners become proactive on environmental issues and take advantage of the benefits of the FIT.

Enfinity offers workshops where potential solar panel installation builders and owners can learn about the FIT, as well as important information on the specifications of the ideal rooftop, how to select a qualified developer, and what to expect from a solar installation. Together, Enfinity and the Township of East Hawkesbury will work towards cleaner air and a more sustainable future for Ontarians.

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Recycling Company Goes Solar

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Waxman Industrial Services, Ltd. (Waxman), recently announced that it will host an 87,000 square foot photovoltaic (PV) installation on its Burlington, Ontario rooftop.  Installing solar panels on the building’s roof will create work for graduates of Ontario’s green energy training courses.  When complete, the installation will produce an estimated 500 kW of environmentally-friendly electricity per hour.

Waxman is Canada’s fastest-growing metals recycling company, with operations in Hamilton, Brantford, and Burlington.  Toronto’s Atlantic Wind and Solar, Inc. (Atlantic) will construct, own, and operate the new rooftop facility.  Atlantic is a commercial aggregator – a company that leases space for installations that generate energy to sell at a profit.  The agreement between Waxman and Atlantic was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield, Ltd., a global real estate firm with offices across Canada and on most continents.

Atlantic operates a number of projects that participate in Ontario’s lucrative feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  The FIT encourages investment into green energy by paying owners of solar, wind, and biomass power projects above-market rates for electricity they feed into the grid.  The microFIT offers even higher prices, depending on the type of installation, for projects of 10 kW and less.  Last summer, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) barred commercial aggregators from participating in the microFIT.

FIT, MicroFIT Create Alternative Energy, Jobs

A number of businesses, including IKEA, have chosen to produce alternative energy on their Ontario properties and rooftops, largely motivated by the FIT’s high prices.  This increased interest in green energy has led to a dramatic increase in the number of solar, wind, and biomass projects that operate in the province and has helped to create thousands of jobs.  According to one estimate, Ontario will install about 2400 MW of clean electricity-generating capacity between 2010 and 2012, and a recent study conducted by ClearSky Advisors suggests that the region may add as many as 70,000 “person-years” of employment in the green energy sector by 2015.  The FIT, microFIT, and the popularity of solar panels  and other types of installations have also inspired industry players to offer courses for workers interested in making the switch to careers in renewable energy, such as Ontario Solar Academy’s five-day solar panel installation course.

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Renewable Energy Company Offers Information, Training at Solar Exhibition

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

Sustainable Energy Technologies, Ltd. (Sustainable), has announced that it will offer workshops to provide information and training on its renewable energy products as part of this year’s Solar Canada exhibition in Toronto.  Sustainable will showcase its latest SUNERGY photovoltaic inverter at the exhibit, which takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 4-7 and will hold the workshops on the 8th at the InterContinental Toronto Centre from 8 AM until noon and from 1-5 PM.

Sustainable’s workshops will augment the renewable energy training curricula of Ontario’s solar PV design and training courses, such as Ontario Solar Academy’s five-day solar installation classes.  The two sessions will focus on the company’s SUNERGY inverter technology, which allows solar installers to use parallel circuits, a technique that increases safety and energy yields and improves the versatility of solar panel configurations.  According to Sustainable, SUNERGY inverters are the only products on the market with a high power rating that also allow the parallel option with a price and ease of serviceability that compares to conventional inverters.  These qualities make the product ideal for projects that take part in Ontario’s feed-in tariff program.

Feed-in Tariff Program Pays High Prices for Alternative Energy, Creates Jobs

Ontario’s feed-in tariff program, the first on the continent, pays high prices for power generated by solar, wind, and other alternative energy systems.  The program has so far succeeded in its goals to create green jobs and clean energy in the province, and it allows home-owners to become part of the solution with its microFIT option for small-scale installations.  Rooftop systems less than 10 kW receive the highest prices, 80.2 cents per kW-hour.  The owners of these systems stand to benefit significantly from the increased efficiency, safety, and simplicity of Sustainable’s inverters.

Potential Sustainable customers and other interested parties can expect to learn about products and prices at the workshops, as well as about special price reductions, installation techniques, and system monitoring.  Admission to the event is $75; attendees must register using the Solar Canada sign-up form.  Space is limited and admission is first come, first served.

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