Posts Tagged ‘ontario power authority’

Ontario First Nation Solar Installation to Create Jobs for PV Course Graduates

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Toronto’s SkyPower Limited (SkyPower) has announced plans to build a new 10 MW solar panel installation at Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  The project will help to create up to 100 jobs for graduates of the region’s solar panel installation courses and when complete, it will mark the first system of its size built on First Nations land in Canada.

SkyPower finances, develops, owns, and manages solar projects across Ontario.  Its 9 MW First Light I project in Stone Mills debuted in 2009 as Canada’s first-ever utility-scale solar park.  The company helped to create more than 100 jobs in the region during the project’s construction and the facility generates enough solar energy to power up to 10,000 homes.  SkyPower’s latest project in Fort William is currently under construction and will involve approximately 45,000 solar panels installed over about forty hectares (100 acres) of land.  The solar company plans to complete the project by the summer of 2011 and expects it to generate enough solar energy to power 17,000 homes and offset thousands of tonnes, annually, of the greenhouse gases produced by conventional energy sources such as oil or coal.

Region’s Solar Industry Supported by Ontario’s Green Energy Act

Ontario benefits from a robust solar industry that is buoyed by its Green Energy and Green Economy Act (Green Energy Act).  The Act was signed into law in 2009 and gave the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) the tools it required to offer its feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  The FIT helps to create jobs and stimulates the economy by paying green energy producers high prices – up to 80.2 cents per kW-hour – for power they generate using solar, wind, biomass, and hydroelectric installations of varying sizes.  It also gives rise to new educational streams like solar panel installation courses and post-secondary green tech programs.

With its latest project in Fort William, SkyPower continues to contribute green energy solutions to Ontario’s power supply mix while it takes advantage of the favourable business climate created by the FIT.  “This successful partnership demonstrates our commitment to strategic partnerships in renewable energy,” says the company’s President and CEO, Kerry Adler, “and we continue to explore similar opportunities to ensure a brighter future for future generations.”

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Thunder Bay School Goes Green, Begins Photovoltaic Training Early

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Students in Thunder Bay, Ontario, will start training for the realities of the new solar economy at young ages, thanks to a new 50 kW solar photovoltaic installation that the city’s Catholic District School Board plans to build on the roof of Pope John Paul II Senior Elementary School (John Paul Elementary).

With the new solar project, John Paul Elementary will join a number of schools across the province that help to make the region and its economy greener by supplying renewable sources of energy to replace less environmentally-friendly methods of power generation such as gas and coal.  The installations also offer students first-hand looks at green technology as they prepare for their future careers.

Ontario has a blossoming solar industry that is powered by a feed-in tariff (FIT) program that pays producers of photovoltaic, wind, and biomass energy high prices to feed their projects into the province’s electrical grid.  The FIT has led to the creation of renewable energy, green careers, and new training opportunities in the province, which in turn help the region’s economy recover from the recent global recession.

Province Invests Heavily in Green Economy, Schools

Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board expects to save up to $70,000 each year on its utility bills by offsetting its hydro consumption with green energy it produces using the rooftop solar array at John Paul Elementary.  It also stands to reduce its carbon footprint by as much as sixty-four tonnes annually.  The Ontario government funded the $800,000 solar project as part of a plan to build more than 120 renewable energy installations at schools across the province.  The $50 million plan helps the province to reduce its environmental impact while it prepares teachers, students, and the communities they serve for a future that depends less on fossil fuels and more on green alternatives.

A number of other schools in the province have solar systems installed or in the works at their facilities, including Bear Creek Secondary in Barrie and Fort Frances High School in the northern Ontario town of Fort Francis.  These projects demonstrate that at Ontario’s learning institutions, today’s students train not only for their own careers, but also for the future of the province and of the planet.

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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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Another MicroFIT Solar Project Underway in Thunder Bay

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Solar Logix, Inc. (Solar Logix) has begun construction on an innovative new residential microFIT solar installation in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  The project is the thirty-sixth the company has installed in the city since July of last year, and in that time, Solar Logix has helped more than thirty workers find solar energy careers.

“We’ve grown a lot,” says Jason Richat, Solar Logix’s General Manager.  Based in Thunder Bay, the company is a full-service provider of rooftop and ground-mounted solar energy systems.  Solar Logix’s latest installation is a solar tracking unit shaped like a large sail, with fifty-two photovoltaic (PV) panels that move to follow the sun.  Like all of the company’s installations, it will meet the requirements of the province’s microFIT program.

Ontario’s microFIT allows home-owners and businesses to earn up to 80.2 cents/kW-hour for energy they feed into the province’s power grid from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and biomass.  The program, which covers projects up to 10 kW capacity, and its companion for larger projects, simply called the feed-in tariff (FIT), create job opportunities like solar energy careers and training programs like PV installation classes to help workers make the switch to the new green energy economy.

City Ideal for Solar Energy Installations, PV Class Grads Entering New Careers

Thunder Bay is home to a number of FIT and microFIT projects, including a rooftop system at the Northern Lights Credit Union building on Amber drive, a product of Solar Logix, and another at Dufresne Furniture, which sits across the street from the credit union.  The city is prime real estate for solar installations, as its location in Ontario allows it to take part in the FIT and microFIT and gives it access to PV installation classes and other “green” educational opportunities.  According to the city’s website, it is also “the sunniest city in eastern Canada, with an average of 2,167.7 hours of bright sunshine each year.”

With the help of the Ontario government, Mother Nature, and Solar Logix, Thunder Bay is well-positioned to help both its own and the province’s economies become richer while providing them with clean, renewable energy.

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Owen Sound to Consider Joining Green Economy

Friday, January 7th, 2011

City Council in Owen Sound, Ontario, will soon decide whether the municipality will join the province’s green economy with a pair of ground-mounted solar installations on city-owned property.

Within the next few months, Owen Sound’s Environmental Superintendent, Chris Hughes, will present a plan to Council for two 10 kW installations that the city’s Environmental and Waste Advisory Committee expects to cost $171,000 before taxes.  The projects will generate revenue by participating in the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA’s) lucrative microFIT program.  The committee reviewed proposals from nine different companies and selected Toronto’s Essex Energy Corporation (Essex Energy) to build photovoltaic systems at the Kiwanis Soccer Complex and at a public works facility in the city.  Essex Energy is a division of Essex Power Corporation (Essex Power) that specializes in renewable energy systems and distributed generation.

Ontario’s microFIT pays above-market rates, locked into twenty-year contracts, to owners of small-scale alternative energy-generating installations who tie their projects into the province’s power grid.  The program and its companion feed-in tariff (FIT) for larger projects create clean power as well as jobs for graduates of photovoltaic training classes.

Projects Would Create Alternative Energy, Jobs for Photovoltaic Class Graduates

“It’s environmentally responsible.  It’s cost-neutral to begin with and, ultimately, it will be a source of revenue for the city in the future,” says Councillor Bill Twaddle, Chairman of the advisory committee.  The projects, if approved, will also create jobs in the region, as the FIT and microFIT require participating developers to acquire up to 60% of materials and labour from within the province.

If City Council agrees to take on the projects, the two photovoltaic installations will represent Owen Sound’s first foray into alternative energy since the province began to offer financial incentives for clean electricity.  “This is kind of a small introduction into the whole thing,” says Councillor Twaddle.  The committee expects the solar installations to pay for themselves within ten years and generate income for the city for the remainder of the microFIT contracts.  Owen Sound’s entry into the solar market brings the region into step with many other municipalities that, with the help of the OPA and graduates of the province’s photovoltaic classes, do their part to take Ontario into a greener future.

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Research Reveals Animal Kingdom’s Solar Economy

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

According to a recent study, humans are not the only animals to take part in a solar economy of sorts.  While it may not attend solar training courses or pursue green careers, the Oriental hornet harvests the power of the sun for energy.

The recent findings were discovered by Israeli and UK researchers and published in the German journal, Naturwissenschaften.  According to the research, while hornets are usually more active in the cooler hours of the morning, Vespa orientalis, a species found across the Near East and India, performs its hardest work in the afternoon, when the day is hot.  The researchers have identified the reason for this: the insect harvests power from the sun using parts of its anatomy.

The research team, led by entomologist Dr. Marian Plotkin at Tel-Aviv University, tested the theory of the late Professor Jacob S. Ishay that the hornets have some anatomical method of harnessing solar energy.  They discovered structural elements of the insect’s exoskeleton that trap light, rather than reflect it, as well as a pigment in its head and body, called xanthopterin, that, according to Dr. Plotkin, transforms light into electrical energy.  “We assume,” she says, “that some of the energy is transformed in a photo-biochemical process, which aids the hornets with their energy demanding digging activity.”

Hornet Anatomy May One Day Boost Green Careers

The work of Dr. Plotkin and her team may one day lead to advancements in solar technology that could give the PV industry a leg up in the race to replace fossil fuels.  This could prove of particular use in regions like Ontario, which currently has a mandate to close all of its coal-fired power plants within the first half of the decade.  The provincial government’s plan has given birth to a rapidly emerging solar economy that creates, in addition to clean air and renewable power, green careers and support industries like solar training courses.  Thanks in large part to generous government incentives for renewable energy, Ontario’s PV training course graduates continue to help the province become a leader in solar power production.

Dr. Plotkin’s team’s research will help entomologists gain a better understanding of the ways that insects metabolize energy, but in the future, their findings may also give researchers in other disciplines, such as electrical engineering, insight into the ways that humans can more efficiently harness the power of the sun to meet their own considerable daily energy needs.

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A Technological Match Made in Heaven for the Solar Industry

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

AVACOS Solar (AVACOS) has announced its completion of an experimental green energy project in residential Toronto, Ontario that includes a 4.6 kW rooftop PV installation and uses several other environmentally-friendly building techniques.

AVACOS is an Ontario-based designer, developer, and manager of solar PV projects.  The company hopes to receive prestigious LEED Platinum Certification for its newly- completed residential project, which adds high-efficiency R-35 insulation, geothermal heating and cooling, and reclaimed building materials to the list of ways it minimizes its impact on the environment.

The new property, situated at an undisclosed location, was constructed by Toronto’s South Park Design Build.  The property’s rooftop installation is Canada’s first to combine SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.’s (SANYO’s) HIT Double solar modules with DuROCK Alfacing International, Ltd.’s (DuROCK’s) Tio-Coat roofing membrane.

SANYO is a well-known global electronics company with operations in Canada.  Its innovative HIT Double panels absorb solar energy from both sides, giving solar installers a more versatile material capable of 30% more energy output than conventional one-sided modules.  Woodbridge-based DuROCK is a family-owned producer of finishes and coatings.  The company’s Tio-Coat is a urethane coating that, when applied to the rooftop, provides 89% weather resistance and reflects a large percent of the sun’s rays.  This property makes Tio-Coat perfect to combine with SANYO’s arrays, as the back sides of the panels can absorb the reflected sunlight.  Windsor-based Schletter Canada, Inc. contributed its racking systems to the project.

Company, Province Open Doors for Workers with Solar PV Training

Koshi Terakawa, President of SANYO’s Canadian division, was reportedly pleased that AVACOS had successfully opened the door for HIT Double’s entrance into the residential market.  Currently, Ontario offers rich compensation to homeowners who generate renewable energy that they feed into the electrical grid under its microFIT program.  The microFIT and its companion program for larger projects, the FIT, have helped to create a number of employment and training opportunities in the solar PV market.  Solar projects receive some of the highest prices under the FIT, which has spurred rapid growth in the industry.  To keep up with the demand for solar installers, programs like Ontario Solar Academy’s solar PV training courses prepare new and seasoned workers alike for the future of energy generation.

AVACOS plans to employ its winning combination of eco-friendly technologies in its developments Canada-wide.  This will give the country’s solar industry and its PV workers competitive edges in the global race to sustainability.

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Kingston’s Rooftop Challenge: 1,000 Solar Panel Installations by 2011

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

The solar industry caught the attention of a local non-for-profit group in Kingston, Ontario focused on helping the province transition to a more sustainable and cleaner future.  SWITCH travels throughout the city searching for homes that are suitable for solar panel installations.  Its goal is to help Kingston turn solar by encouraging 1,000 homeowners to erect photovoltaic systems on their unused land and rooftops.  Thus far, SWITCH has successfully helped with over seventy-six solar panel installations.  Company representative, Tyson Champagne, states, “More solar power in the city will ensure a greater percentage of power used will be coming from clean energy sources.”

Solar PV Training Is an Integral Part of the Solar Industry

Suntech announced intentions to build a solar silicon manufacturing plant in Vaughan Ontario.  Together working with Calisolar, “the partnership will accelerate the development of the solar industry in Ontario and meet the growing solar demand across Canada.”  Green jobs are important to Ontario, but installers trained in solar photovoltaic installations are just as vital to the energy sector.  According to the Ontario Power Authority, there were approximately 19,000 microFIT applications through July 2, 2010, 5% of which had been installed and commissioned by the end of August 2010.  This statistic is alarming because without qualified solar installers that have the necessary solar PV training, this backlog could derail the green energy movement.

Ontario Solar Network Promotes Solar Jobs, Solar PV Training, and Solar Energy

Ontario Solar Network (OSN) kicked off its membership campaign with a special event held in Vaughn, Ontario.  Ontario Solar Network began as the alumni group of Ontario Solar Academy’s solar PV training course, and as demand for solar expansion and professional networking grew, OSN membership soon followed.  Jacob Travis, Founder and President of OSN stated the goal of the Network is “to help members grow their solar businesses and careers,” promising that the Network will help “businesses access what they need to know, and who they need to know.

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