OUTLOOK IS SUNNY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
Alberta’s climate, infrastructure perfect for solar power, Monica Curtis writes.
The low prices seen by Alberta’s recent renewable electricity auction clearly show renewable energy has arrived.
The future is here for no-emission, small-scale solar power, thanks to Alberta’s abundant, world-class solar resource. Energy Efficiency Alberta is helping support the growing use of solar energy to generate new jobs, train professionals and earn revenue for Alberta-based solar providers and associated service companies.
Energy Efficiency Alberta was created a little more than a year ago. We launched our first program last February and currently have five programs focused on energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy, including our Residential and Commercial Solar Program.
Alberta is a great place for solar. In terms of days of sunshine per year, Calgary is the sunniest of Canada’s largest cities and Edmonton is the thirdsunniest. In fact, Alberta enjoys a much better solar resource (solar panels work best in cold, sunny conditions) than Germany, a world leader in deploying solar energy. Within Canada, Alberta has a large electricity marketplace that is heavily industrial, along with an energy infrastructure and fully deregulated electricity market unique in North America. This offers ample opportunities for new types of generation and distribution.
We are also fortunate that some of Canada’s largest solar providers are based in Alberta, including SkyFire Energy, KCP Energy and Kuby Renewable Energy; all important participants in our solar program.
In just six months, our Residential and Commercial Solar Program has helped homeowners and businesses complete 307 residential, 14 commercial, and one non-profit installation. An additional 235 projects are
The future is here for no-emission, small-scale solar power ...
currently submitted and being reviewed. Just one example of these commercial projects is a 164-kilowatt solar system — with 508 solar panels — that Flexahopper Plastics Ltd. installed on the roof of its factory in Lethbridge. The system generates 25 per cent of the facility’s total power needs and is expected to pay for itself within nine years, based on today’s electricity rates.
In the non-profit sector, the hamlet of Kingman, about 80 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, installed a 12-kilowatt rooftop solar system on the community’s new skating rink. During the summer, the system produces more electricity than needed, which is sold to the grid, helping the Kingman Rink of Dreams be financially sustainable.
In total, Energy Efficiency Alberta’s solar program has already added 2.5 megawatts of zero-emission electricity to the province’s electrical grid, with an estimated 17 MW in progress. This program is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province by about 380,000 tonnes — the equivalent to taking 80,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
Energy Efficiency Alberta’s programs, incentive structures and education services are part of the expanding infrastructure across Canada that both promotes and supports the development of the solar industry. We have a partnership with the Solar Energy Society of Alberta (SESA) and the Canadian Solar Industry Association (CanSIA), which requires installers to become members and sign their codes of conduct to become approved installers in our solar program.
Both organizations in turn work with Alberta’s two polytechnic institutes — NAIT and SAIT — to train solar-system installers. We now have more than 220 qualified installers — certified by either CanSIA or SESA — available on our website.
At Energy Efficiency Alberta, we will continue working with industry to ensure this renewable energy transformation benefits consumers, businesses and communities — both in Alberta and across Canada.
We see a bright future ahead.