Solar Updates

Solar could overtake oil as the world’s dominant energy source by 2060

Solar could overtake oil as the world’s dominant energy source by 2060 according to Royal Dutch Shell in its new report entitled A Shift in Perspective for a World in Transition which makes predictions on the energy sector’s changing landscape.

The report states that renewable energy could make up as much as 30% to 40% of the global energy mix by 2060, as oil loses its reign as the world’s biggest energy source in a future where energy consumption is 80% larger than it is now.

Adapted from an article that appeared in the Financial Post, 13/02/28. Read full article here.

 

Do you agree with Royal Dutch Shell that solar energy could be the world’s leading energy source by 2060? How much of Canada’s energy will be from solar by 2060?

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83% of Ontarians believe it is important to have more renewable green energy in Ontario!

A report released by Friends of the Earth Canada on December 3rd 2012 shows that 83% of Ontarians believe it is important to have more renewable energy in Ontario to deal with climate change and help reduce record levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Only 11% of respondents believe that it is not important to take action.  “This opinion poll shows that there is overwhelming support for green energy in Ontario. This strong support should translate into action — governments should encourage the transition to solar and wind power to help reduce record levels of greenhouse gases,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada.

Are you one of the 83%?  If so, take action by voicing your support for green energy in Ontario from the Friends of the Earth Canada website.

 

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Report shows cost of Solar Energy continues to fall dramatically, “Grid Parity” coming soon!

The installed price of solar photovoltaic power systems in the U.S. fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an annual PV c

ost-tracking report produced by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).  This is attributable, in large part, to dramatic cost reductions in solar energy technology, which have been falling precipitously since 2008, according to Berkeley Lab.

Residential and commercial PV systems in the U.S. fell by roughly 11%  to 14% from the year before and experts predict that these cost reductions will continue to be seen until solar energy reaches ‘grid parity’ across all regions of the world: when an alternative energy source can generate electricity at a cost that is less than or equal to the price of purchasing power from the electricity grid.

The report also showed that typical installed prices varied from state to state with costs lowest in regions with a well developed solar industry value- and supply-chain and where energy policy and regulations have evolved to accept solar energy technology.  Similar trends are being seen in Canada today.  So here’s a question for our readers:  In which province do you think we will first see grid parity in Canada, When and Why?  Post your answer below!

Here are some quick facts from the report for those who need more detail.  In 2011 the typical installed prices* in the US fell to:

 

  • $7.70/W for residential (≤ 2 kW).
  • $6.10/W for residential & small commercial (≤ 10 kW).
  • $4.90/W for commercial  (≥ 10 kW  ≤ 1,000 kW).
  • $4.50/W for commercial (≥ 1,000 ≤ 2,000 kW).
  • $3.40/W for utility-sector (> 2,000 kW). 
  • $2.80/W to $3.50/W for utility-scale (> 10,000 kW) .

*The Price per watt (or $/W) is a common way to compare the capital costs of various forms of electricity generation.  For example, a typical 5kW residential system that would produce over 137,500 kWh in a 25 year operating lifetime in Canada would typically have cost approximately $30,000 in 2011 in the US and a utility-scale system that would produce over 11,000,000 kWh in their 25 year lifetime would typically have cost $31.5 million.  

Stay tuned for more blog posts about the falling cost of solar energy and thanks for reading!

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Innovation in the Solar Energy Sector: An update for the Government of Canada

On Thursday November 22nd 2012, CanSIA made an appearance before the Government of Canada House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources who are currently undertaking a study into “Innovation in the Energy Sector”.

CanSIA were invited to provide the Committee Members with an overview of the current Canadian innovation system in the generation, transmission and use of solar energy.  Specifically the scope included the current status of solar energy research, innovation and technology development and deployment in Canada; and our strengths therein in global terms; and the challenges and barriers to maximizing the benefits of innovation, development and deployment of solar energy technologies to Canada; and the supportive role that the federal government can play in this regard.

Here are some facts presented on the day:

  1. The cost of renewable energy has declined in recent years faster than experts are predicting to the point at which renewable energy sources are competitive with historical alternatives even without factoring in climate, health and other benefits.
  2. Renewable energy will become the second largest source of power generation globally by 2015 and renewable energy will have tripled its 2010 level by 2035, with 15% of this coming from solar.
  3. Canadian solar energy technology does and will compete globally in the highly competitive solar energy market with new superior and differentiated technologies.  Our innovation system now features well-developed technology clusters where key private and institutional research partners collaborate with companies of global significance.
During the appearance Mr MacLellan made the point that Silicon (the most common material used to manufacture solar photovoltaic panels) makes up 27.7% of the earth’s crust and that there is no fundamental materials limitation why solar electricity cannot be the lowest cost form of energy on the planet.  Mr MacLellan is pictured above on Parliament Hill holding a 1kg Rod of Poly-Silicon which is used to make solar panels.  Try and guess the following:  If that 1kg Rod of Silicon were converted into solar panels and used to power an electric car, how many kilometres could it drive and what would be the equivalent number of litres of gas required to travel that same distance?
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Solar creates more jobs quicker in the United States

Did you know that there are 119,016 solar workers in the United States‘ solar energy industry (as of September 2012), up from  105,145 in 2011?

For the third consecutive year, the United States’ solar energy industry is creating more jobs faster.  An impressive 1 in 230 of all jobs created in the US’ economy were within the solar energy industry! And this employment is being achieved  at  a larger employment growth rate than the overall economy and most other sectors with 13.2 % versus 2.3 % in the overall economy (and compared to a decline of -3.77% within the fossil fuel electric generation industry during the same period).

So what’s the outlook for the future?  Solar employment in the United States is expected to grow by 17.2 percent over the next 12 months, representing the addition of approximately 20,000 new solar workers. bringing their solar labour force to almost 140,000! 

For more information read the “The National Solar Job Census report” released November 14th 2012 by The Solar Foundation™, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Washington DC working since 1977 to demonstrate the global benefits of solar energy through research and education.

 

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Ontario’s Rising Electricity Prices have little to do with Renewable Energy

While spring in Ontario has yet to bring much rain, there’s been no shortage of mudslinging over rising electricity prices. But there’s more to it than critics of renewable energy would you have you believe.  New data from the Ontario Energy Board (the province’s electricity and natural gas market regulator) shows that electricity prices are going to go up no matter what source of energy we choose to use and that recent rises have very little to do with renewable energy:

  • The power providers who have received the largest portion of the upward adjustments to electricity bills since 2006 aren’t wind and solar energy — they only account for 6 per cent. Instead, it’s nuclear, at 45 per cent. Given that nuclear energy accounts for over half of Ontario’s electricity consumption, this is hardly surprising.
  • While it’s the only province so far to be phasing out coal, price increases are by no means exclusive to Ontario. In coal-powered Alberta, energy prices are forecast to rise by 50 per cent between 2010 and 2016. Between 2002 and 2010, rates in Nova Scotia rose by 37 per cent. In Saskatchewan they rose by 36 per cent. And B.C. Hydro forecasts a rate increase of 32 per cent between 2011 and 2014.

Adapted from “Rising electricity prices have little to do with renewable energy” by Tim Weis (Director of renewable energy policy at the Pembina Institute) published on Saturday May 5 2012  by the Toronto Star.  Read the full article here.

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Ontario’s Green Energy Act is Number 1 in Canada

In a recent news release WWF Canada selected the top five game changers that point the direction for a cleaner, greener Canada.

Guess which came in 1st place …… Ontario’s Green Energy Act.  That’s no surprise to us, but some people don’t understand the importance of the North American leadership position that Ontario is taking to transition to a cleaner greener future.  Spear the Word and Stand Up for Solar!

Here’s the WWF’s top 5:

1. Ontario’s Green Energy Act:

Ontario’s Green Energy Act was introduced in 2009, a comprehensive policy aimed at energy conservation, expanding renewable energy creation and building a green energy industry in the province. This policy, coupled with the ongoing coal phase out in Ontario, was the single biggest action taken to reduce North American emissions in the past five years.

2. Electric cars in the hands of Canadians:

The introduction of electric vehicles to the Canadian marketplace, backed by provincial support, will help encourage Canadians to purchase cleaner car technology. So far, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have introduced rebate programs for electric vehicles. Quebec’s is the most generous, with $50M earmarked for the program over the next few years. To help residents transition to the new technology, municipalities - including Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City – are implementing public charging networks. While there are still strides to be made in developing the infrastructure to support these vehicles, they represent a radical shift away from fossil-fuel cars, and are one part of a shift to sustainable transportation.

3. British Columbia and Quebec put a price on carbon:

In 2008, British Columbia introduced a carbon tax, a landmark decision that saw the province apply the tax to all fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, coal, natural gas, propane and home heating fuel. To- date, the tax has resulted in a 3 per cent reduction in BC’s gasoline consumption. Quebec has also taken leadership on carbon, having adopted  cap and trade system for greenhouse gas emissions to begin by 2013.

4. Investment in renewable energy overtakes fossil fuels:

2011 marked a major global milestone for renewable energy – for the first time, investment in renewable energy sources was higher than investment in fossil fuels. Savvy investors have realized that the next big opportunity is in renewable energy, not in oil, coal or gas. In Canada alone, new financial investment in renewable energy rose 47% in a single year, from 2009 to 2010.

5. 50% of the Canadian population now lives in a city or town that has a climate action plan:

Municipalities across Canada are leading the way in commitments to cut emissions and take action on climate change. Vancouver has boldly pledged to be the greenest city in the world by 2020. Canadians can feel proud that half of us live in a place where our local governments are showing real leadership by measuring their greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets for cutting these emissions and committing to hard-hitting action plans that will deliver results on climate change.

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It’s time to Stand Up for Solar in Ontario……Again!

Dear Supporter of Ontario’s Solar Energy Future,

The time has come again to take a moment to voice your support for Ontario’s transition to a green energy future.

In 2011, Ontario’s Solar Industry created 8,200 jobs and generated $2 billion of private sector investment. This is only the start. A recent report found that Ontario’s solar energy industry could create 74,000 jobs and over $16 billion if continued growth is allowed.

Recent communications have indicated that the review of the province’s microFIT and FIT programs will be finished by the end of this month, March 2012.

We, Ontario’s citizens, communities and businesses, need to remind our elected officials that support for the principals of solar and green energy is as alive now as ever.

Please take 10 minutes of your time to copy and paste the text below into a letter or an email and send it to your MPP. By voicing our support for cleaner energy and a cleaner economy, we are making Ontario and the world a better place.

Thanks for all your support,

The Stand Up for Solar Team

PS. If you need to find your MPP’s name and address, you can do it here by searching your postal code.

Letter:

Dear: [insert name of MPP]

As my elected official I urge you to stand up for solar and Ontario’s clean energy sector.

Ontario citizens support solar energy – for their homes, for their businesses, and in their communities. They are proud of how far Ontario has come in such a short time. They believe in the impact that solar is having on the province’s job sector, and recognize the role that solar is playing for a cleaner, greener Ontario.

The cost of solar power has decreased significantly in the past decade and investment in the technology and the industry is expected to drive the cost down by a further 30% world-wide by 2013. As sunlight is free, solar power is not subject to price fluctuations from regional political instability or the volatility of traditional energy markets.

Solar power is virtually silent in operation and has no moving parts, it does not produce any form of pollution or emissions, it has no lasting effects on the natural environment where it is situated, and it is recognized as being one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources in the world. Solar power will contribute to moving Ontario from dirty coal dependency to a clean, modern, and reliable energy economy.

I ask you, as my representative in the legislature, to show your support for solar energy and renewable energy as a viable and important source of new clean electricity in Ontario.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

[insert name]
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Redirect more investment into clean energy

Excerpt from Article by Klaus Dohring in the Windsor Star February 22, 2012.  Read the full article here.

When I was born in the late ’50s, there were about three billion people living on planet Earth. Today it is estimated that seven billion people live on this planet. If I live to reach the average Canadian male life expectancy, there will be between nine and 10 billion people living on this planet, per today’s projections.

Such an increase in human world population is unprecedented. Never before have six to seven billion people be net added to the world’s population in the lifetime of one person. Nor will this happen again. We truly live in unusual times.

In addition to this unprecedented global population increase, we have seen very significant increases in per capita resource consumption. Be it larger homes and bigger cars or be it eating meat with rice instead of just eating rice, we all work and strive hard to better ourselves.

Better lifestyle is related to higher consumption of resources. This does not necessarily have to be like that, however, with today’s lifestyle of the developed and the developing world, there is a strong correlation between perceived better lifestyle and resource consumption. We all like to have more of everything. Global energy consumption is doubling about every 30 years.

What does Klaus believe are the implications? Read more here.

 

 

 

 


UN report calls for ‘ever-green’ energy revolution

A high-profile UN panel hopes to spark an “ever-green” energy revolution later this year in Brazil using a general roadmap it presented Monday on how world leaders could wean the world off fossil fuels onto more solar and renewable energy.  Its report links the world body’s goals of reducing poverty and inequality to promoting the use of wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy.

To do that, the panel urges that nations fully integrate the social and environmental costs of their commerce into the prices and measures of their ecoBan Ki Moon, Secretary General for the United Nationsnomic goods and services.

Want to read more?  The group’s final report, Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to make it a part of mainstream economic policy as quickly as possible.

 

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Snow and Solar Energy in Canada: Let’s Debunk some Myths!

If you have tips or queries about Snow and Solar Energy in Canada, post them below and we’ll compile them into a factsheet for our Resources page.  Even better, if you have related photos or videos share them with us and we’ll post our favourites!  We want Canadians to understand solar energy technology better.  Do you? If so, share this post with your friends!

Blog posted January 20th, updated January 23rd 2012.

It’s January and wintry conditions means snowfall on many solar energy installations for Canadian homes, businesses and communties.  Many Canadians assume that solar energy and wintry conditions are incompatible.  But that’s simply not true.  Snow and ice collects on our cars parked outdoors – but does that mean we can only drive them in the Summer?

So what are the facts that everyone needs to know about snow and solar energy technology in Canada?  Here are some to get us started: 

  • Much of Canada receives snow each year.  A competent solar energy professional will understand how to best  install a solar energy technology to minimize the occurence of snow cover on solar panels and will incorporate these considerations into the system design.

  • How do they do that? Most solar energy installations are tilted at an angle toward the sun to maximize the amount of energy they receive. When there’s a light dusting or a few inches of snow, it simply falls off or melts quickly.  Areas on roofs where excessive snow is likely to collect are avoided.  However, heavy snowfall on solar panels with a tilt of less than 35° could lead to snow cover inhibiting energy production for a number of days at a time.

  • What if there’s a heavy snowfall and snow remains?  If  the panels are easily accessible, the snow can be brushed off with a soft broom.  If the panels are not easily accessible, there are a number of options:

1. Wait until the snow melts:  A few cm of snow will melt and slide quickly off panels with a tilt of 35° or more.  This is especially the case with blue-sky days and/or milder temperatures.  Several cm of snow on flat panels could remain significantly longer.

2. Sweep the snow off:  Snow can often be easily removed with a soft broom from solar panels.  Please remember, this can be difficult and/or dangerous and the use of ladders can present a risk of injury.

Look how easy it can be to clear snow from a residential solar electric installation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  You can check the performance of the system in realtime here too.

3. Spray the snow off with a garden hose: Snow can be sprayed off solar panels with a garden hose.  This is only advisable when temperatures will remain above freezing during and after the spraying. 

4. The ‘Nerf football method’:  Some people recommend tossing a soft spongy football at the panels to clear a small patch – when the sun warms the area, the rest of the snow will melt away. 

  • What if solar panels aren’t cleared of snow cover?   The number of days that the output of a well-designed solar energy installation is reduced by snow cover in Canada, should be minimal relative to annual production – not much to worry about.

  • What about the cold temperatures?  Cold temperatures actually improve the performance of solar energy technology.  Photovoltaic materials (materials that produce electricity from light) are more efficient at lower temperatures and  solar heating technologies produce more energy when the water and air that is heated starts off being cooler.

  • Anything else of interest? Fresh snow reflects up to 90% of the light that lands on it (a perfect mirror reflects 100%).  In certain configurations, the presence of snow can greatly increase the performance of solar energy technologies by increasing the amount of light available.

Thanks for reading, check back soon for updates!

 

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Stand Up for Solar on Election Day

Dear Ontario Solar Supporter,

As we arrive on Election Day, we want to thank you for Standing Up for Solar in Ontario.

In the last few weeks, thousands of Ontario citizens have voiced their support for solar energy by sending letters to provincial candidates, joining our campaign on facebook and twitter, and speaking out in communities across the province. Because of you, we have built a community of supporters that are standing up together to declare that Ontario wants a solar energy future.

Now, we are asking you to build on this momentum by Standing Up for Solar today. Ontario has become a world leader in solar energy. That’s something to be proud of – and it’s worth protecting. If we work together at this critical moment, we can ensure a bright future for Ontario and beyond.

Have Your Voice Heard. Stand Up for Solar on Election Day.

For detailed information on your voting options, visit the Elections Ontario website: www.elections.on.ca

Thanks again for your support!


Solar Energy: Nature’s Idea

Using energy from the sun. Makes sense. It’s what nature’s been doing all this time. The solar industry is just the evolution of our journey towards re-creating the process that nature has long since perfected.

 Great video from Bright Power says it all with so little!


Ontario’s Path to Green Prosperity

By Jürgen Trittin, Germany’s Minister for the Environment from 1998 to 2005.

Just 20 years ago, nearly all of Germany’s electricity was generated by coal, oil and nuclear power. Today, renewables such as wind and solar provide more than 20 per cent of the nation’s power. Clean energy production has become a major source of jobs and investment. It has been a real success story for the economy and the environment.

Ontario is now embarking on a similar path. It is building a global reputation as an emerging clean energy leader in North America. To drive this change, Ontario is using a feed-in-tariff program (providing price incentives for green energy) that is very similar to the one we have used in Germany. This program has been the key to our success, and should produce similar results in Ontario.

Read the full article here.

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A Letter to Ontario Solar Supporters

Dear Ontario Solar Supporter,

Thank you for Standing Up for Solar in Ontario! In the last few weeks, thousands of Ontario citizens have voiced their support for solar energy by sending letters to provincial candidates, joining our campaign on facebook and twitter, and speaking out in communities across the province. Because of you, we have built a community of supporters that are standing up together to declare that Ontario wants solar – for today and in the future.

Now, in the final week of the election, we are asking you to carry out three simple tasks:

  1. Send a letter to your provincial candidates on our website.
  2. Share our campaign via facebook and twitter.
  3. Forward this message to your friends and family to encourage them to take action.

Ontario has become a world leader in solar energy. That’s something to be proud of – and it’s worth protecting. As we near the election on Thursday, we can multiply our impact by speaking loudly and clearly about our desire for a solar energy future. Now is the time to Stand Up for Solar in Ontario. Now is the time to have your voice heard.

If we work together, we can ensure a bright future for Ontario. Please Stand Up for Solar today.

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