Is this solar- power program a money- saver? When Mississauga resident Paul Ford opened the door to a salesman in the spring of 2. He was surprised when the pitchman told him that not only would the panels not cost him a dime, but the roof would make him money.“I said, ‘You’re kidding,’ and the conversation just went from there,” Mr. Ford says. The pitch went like this. Pure Energies Inc. Markham, Ont., would finance, install and maintain an array of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of Mr. Ford’s 3,2. 00- square- foot home. The energy produced by those solar panels would flow into Mississauga’s main power grid from his home, with a meter monitoring the energy produced. In return for that “clean” electricity, the Ministry of Energy, through the Ontario Power Authority, would pay Pure Energies 8. The Solar Power Assessment is the first step to see if your home or building is a pplicable for Solar Panels and the Ontario F.I.T. Program. The Solar. Government Funded Solar Power in Ontario. Solar Panel System. Ontario Solar Microfit Program. Ontario Solar Program. Privacy; Terms & Conditions; About; Contact; EARN $3,500 TO $5,000 EVERY YEAR FROM INVESTING IN YOUR OWN SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM THAT'S $250. email about the free solar. Ontario Hydro pulls plug on solar plans. Strathroy. He had been given a conditional offer by the Ontario Power Authority under a plan proposed and backed by the Ontario government. (program) signals that. . for electricity generating projects in Ontario. The microFIT Program is a stream of the FIT Program and allows for. Will a Participant who installs a solar pv system on the roof of his or her residential home and enters. Our Net Metering program is available to any Hydro One customer who generates electricity primarily for their own use. solar radiation or agricultural. to Hydro One's distribution system for a credit towards your. Ontario is lowering the prices it pays for future wind and solar energy projects. Ontario to cut rates paid for wind, solar power. The Canadian Press Posted.Feed- In- Tariff program, implemented in 2. Mr. Ford sharing in the revenue. That rate would be guaranteed for 2. Mr. Ford went for it, and his nine- kilowatt rooftop array has been producing solar energy for his community for almost a year. He will be getting a cheque for around $1,0. Pure Energies on the one- year anniversary of the installation. Since its inception 2½ years ago. Ontario’s micro. FIT program (for arrays producing up to 1. According to the Energy Ministry, as of Sept. FIT projects are online and 3,0. Of course, as with all new technologies, the introduction of solar has not run entirely smoothly. Many taxpayers are annoyed that the provincial government has provided significant subsidies for solar installations (for which they are being taxed) and bureaucratic issues in connecting them to the power grid have stalled growth. Furthermore, while thousands may have applied, others who might have been interested have adopted a wait- and- see attitude: Will the technology be outdated by the time the contract is up? How will a solar lease affect the resale of a property? But even those who are keen to get in on the action will have to wait. The micro. FIT program (as well as the FIT program, for solar installations above 1. W) is currently going through a review by the ministry. As part of the review, Energy Minister Chris Bentley is consulting members of the solar industry until Dec. After the consultation process, a report will be presented to Mr. Bentley in the new year. And while the ministry says new micro. FIT applications are welcome in the interim, they will not be processed until the new rules are established. Many in the industry expect the review could mean a lower rate offered under the micro. FIT program. But would a lower rate also mean a lower rate of return (and smaller cheques for homeowners)? Not necessarily, says Jon Kieran, chair of the. Canadian Solar Industries Association (he says 3. Can. SIA membership offer residential solar in the province). Because the cost of materials has also been dropping, companies may be able to pass along those savings to the consumer.“Although prices may and will fall, costs have fallen,” he says. So for a homeowner, I hope they don’t see that lower price in the context of any estimate they may have heard a year ago, or two years ago or even six months ago, because people in the industry are trying to offer these services at a lower price.”Jacob Travis, president of the. Solar Alliance of Ontario, says rates can come down if the government works on fixing inefficiencies in the program, which would mean that labour costs would come down as well. The popularity of the Ontario micro. FIT program has resulted in delays throughout the application and implementation process.)“A lot of the costs are in paying for labour to wait around and it frustrates the industry, it frustrates the consumers,” he says. The prices can come down dramatically if the government will make it so that there are not long delays.”In order for the micro. FIT program to work for homeowners on a large scale, putting solar panels on your roof and getting hooked up should be “plug and play,” as easy as “putting in an air conditioner,” Mr. Travis says. He says he is hoping that the government will announce an interim rate “that is substantially lower so people can keep selling and keep buying.”Chris Stern, vice- president of business development of Pure Energies, says the company has been giving homeowners payments of $2. Though the yearly revenue is a nice bonus, he says, most of their customers are more interested in the idea of creating green energy. He says his company offers homeowners the option to earn the entire feed- in tariff if they are willing to finance the system themselves. But then they have to fork over $2. Roughly 2 per cent of our customers purchase. Most people want to give us a spot on their roof.”They aren’t “doing this to make $3. Mrs. Jones down the street has got one and her kids love it and it’s fantastic,” Mr. Stern says. Is a solar- power system right for you? The first step involves a detailed roof analysis, said Chris Stern, vice- president of business development for Pure Energies Inc. The most common obstacle to solar comes from foliage. Shade is really bad for a solar- power system,” Mr. Stern says. “There’s a running joke in our company to send a chainsaw with every installation.”Other challenges include inadequate roof space facing south, southwest or southeast, Mr. Stern says, or architectural details that would prevent an installation. On the south side of your house, it could be that you have three gables,” he says. What works? Ideally, 3. Bungalows are fantastic with the back facing south,” Mr. Stern says. Roofs should be less than five years old to prevent any need for repairs once the panels go up. Pure Energies allows for one free removal of the panels as part of its 2. Do panels create wear and tear on your roof? The biggest enemy to shingles is sunlight, so we’re blocking it by putting the panels up,” Mr. Stern says. How solar breaks down across Canada“There are limited solar incentives in selected other provinces and the occasional municipality, but nothing remotely close to the size and scope of Ontario’s FIT [Feed- In Tariff]and micro. FIT programs,” said Jon Kieran, chair of the Canadian Solar Industries Association. Outside Ontario, homeowners may lay out $2. Kevin Pegg, who owns B. C.- based Energy Alternatives, says 9. The on- grid market in British Columbia is a very, very tiny market,” he said. The people that we do the grid- tie systems on tend to be what I call very ‘deep green’ people,” he said. Brooke Longpre, vice- president of Sound Solar in Saskatchewan, says an average, 3. However, the province currently offers a 3. The program was extended past its original 2. Ms. Longpre says the rebate has increased interest in residential solar, but she hopes that Saskatchewan will see a FIT program soon. We are a PV hot spot. We have the most sunlight hours in North America and we have vast agricultural land.”. Ontario Solar Program. Solar power is clean, natural energy that is sustainable for the unforeseeable future. Research studies are proving, now more than ever, that our planet will not be able to sustain life if we don't start making changes to how we produce and use power. The change needs to happen now; little by little we can all help our planet for our children and their children to come. If you own your home (with or without a mortgage) and your roof has access to sunlight, you can purchase or finance a solar panel system that will not only reduce your ecological effect, but earn you a great source of income. If you would rather not purchase or finance a system, but would like to go solar, please visit our Free Solar Program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
September 2016
Categories |