Welland Hydro invests in sunny future
Two two-hectare solar farms helping to power the city
A $2.5-million joint venture between Welland Hydro Energy Services and the local municipality is running at full capacity and creating less pressure on the electrical grid that serves homes and businesses in the city.
Two solar farms both consisting of 1,757 panels began fully operating recently — one behind the local utility’s headquarters on East Main Street and other near the recreational canal and Thorold Road.
After an application process initiated in 2015, construction started about four months ago and each site, with a price tag of $1.25 million, was switched on in the past two weeks.
The solar energy generated by each location eases the tension on the amount of electricity that comes through the system, said Welland Hydro Energy Services president and chief executive officer Wayne Armstrong.
“All solar we have in the grid, it stays in Welland and reduces the load on the transmission stations,” he said.
The project will also minimize waste when there is a power outage, as much energy is lost through heat when the power goes out, said Ross Peever, retired president and chief executive officer of the city-owned utility who has served as a consultant on the project.
“By generating locally, you don’t have those losses,” said Peever.
“Theoretically, it costs less,” he added. Armstrong said advantages for the hydro provider from the solar farms are the creation of a return on investment for the hydro provider and the municipality. There are also environmental benefits, he said.
As consumers begin to shift from the feed-in-tariff and MicroFIT programs to producing their own energy and a net-metering structure, Armstrong said solar energy is becoming more common.
“I think with the (provincial) government’s long-term green energy policy, that’s the push,” he said.
Armstrong said the panels at each of the new setups have a lifespan of about 20 years, but as technology advances that doesn’t mean at all that the sites will be useless in two decades.
“Fifteen years from now, you may be able to generate far more from these projects by just replacing the solar panels,” he said.
Both two-hectare solar farms that are part of the partnership are expected to generate 700,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually.
“That’s enough to power roughly 192 homes for an entire year,” said Armstrong.
In the past year, roughly six per cent of the kilowatt hours generated within Welland’s boundary are the result of third-party solar sites.
Seeing the relief renewable energy has given to people in the private sector, Armstrong said there’s no reason why the local government and utility provider can’t reap the same benefits.
“With the expertise we have, we can get the same returns and work together,” he said.
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“All solar we have in the grid, it stays in Welland and reduces the load on the transmission stations.”
WAYNE ARMSTRONG
Welland Hydro Energy Services CEO