ONTARIO ATTRACTS WORLD-CLASS PV PROJECTS

No. 10, September 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Key solar industry players join CanSIA. . . . . . . 2Ontario takes leadership role. . . . . . . . . . 3Federal initiative targets residential sector. . . . . . 4Renewables want in the offsets market. . . . . . . 4Saskatchewan funds solar hot water. . . . . . . . . . 5Standing offer plan disappoints. . . . . . . . . . . 6Conference tackles market growth issues . . . . . 7Education initiative takes shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Solar Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Solar training courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11New executive director sees bright future . . . . . 12

Province Signs 46 Standard Offer Contracts

See PV page 10

The Ontario Power Authority(OPA) has signed 46 contracts with29 proponents that collectively as-pire to install 88.6 MW of photo-voltaic capacity under the prov-ince’s Renewable Energy Stand-ard Offer Program (RESOP). Thevast majority of this proposed gen-eration is utility-scale solar farms.

Summer statistics from the OPAindicate a significant increase inPV projects inspired by RESOP,which began accepting applica-tions in November 2006 and guar-antees 42¢/kWh on a 20-year termto grid-tied PV projects less than10 MW in size. The OPA’s firstquarter report in the spring indi-cated only three PV projects hadbeen contracted, totalling 23 kW,and by the end of July six projectswith a combined capacity of 28 kWwere in commercial operation.Representative of small-scale PVinstallations, the OPA’s July tallyindicates 44 contracts totaling 359kW had been signed. RESOP hasalso attracted two proponents withutility-scale PV ambitions account-ing for contracts totaling 88.24 MW.

The OPA repor t indicatesOptiSolar Farms Canada Inc. hassigned seven 10 MW contracts.The company, a subsidiary of Cali-fornia-based OptiSolar, plans tobegin construction of its first 10MW solar farm in the municipalityof Sarnia in 2008, and completethe installation of 90 MW of PVacross three locations sometimein 2010. Sarnia is to receive 50 MWof installed capacity. While, the

SunEdison is now building the 8.2 MW Alamosa solar farm in Colorado and plans, with itspartner SkyPower, to start construction of a utility-scale PV project in Ontario next year.

Sun

Edi

son

LLC

other two locations, Petrolia andTilbury, will each have 20 MWeach.

In a news release, the companysaid it would install “hundreds ofthousands” of ground-mounted PVmodules, and the projects will gen-erate millions of dollars in localconstruction work and procure-ment contracts. The Sarnia windfarm alone is among the mostambitious PV developments everproposed anywhere, and wouldoccupy more than 350 hectares ofland. The company says long-termRESOP contracts in combinationwith a proprietary thin-film PVtechnology and cost-effectivemanufacturing make the projectseconomic.

“The initial press coverage ofthe Sarnia project actually stimu-

lated some other solar farm devel-opers from outside Canada to takea closer look at our market, andsome of those companies, I be-

All contents copyrightMcKibben & Bailey, mc.b@shaw.ca

ADDRESS2378 Holly Lane, Suite 208Ottawa, Ontario K1V 7P1T: +1 613 736 9077 or 1 866 522 6742F: +1 613 736 8938E-mail: info@cansia.caWebsite: www.cansia.ca

CANSIA STAFFElizabeth McDonald - Executive DirectorSharon Chester - Office ManagerWesley Johnston - Research OfficerMargot Hallam - Director, Membership/Sponsorship

CANSIA BOARD OF DIRECTORSAndrew van Doorn - PresidentRichard Thorne - Vice-PresidentBrent Harris - TreasurerDavid Elzinga - SecretaryDavid Kelly - ST Division ChairVictoria Hollick - STJean-Pierre Pawliw - STSteve Wiebe - PV Division Chair

CORPORATE IBP SolarCarmanah Technologies Corp.Conergy Inc.Day4 Energy Inc.Sharp Electronics Corporation/Solar Energy Solutions GroupSunEdison LLCSunPower Corp.SunPower Parks Corp. (A SkyPower Company)Toronto Hydro Corp.Xantrex Technology Inc.ICP Solar Technologies

CORPORATE IIAlpha Technologies Ltd.ARISE Technologies Corp.Conserval EngineeringEnersol Solar Products Inc.EnerWorks IncKyocera Solar Inc.Mann Engineering Ltd.Matrix Energy IncOntario Electrical Construction Company Ltd.SANYO Canada Inc.SMA America Inc.SolarOntario.com Ltd.SolGate Inc.Stored Energy SolutionsSun Volts UnlimitedSunsolar Energy Technologies Inc.Sustainable Energy TechnologiesTaylor Munro Energy Systems Inc.Techno-Solis Inc.Thermo Dynamics Ltd.Viessmann Manufacturing Company Inc.

SUPPORTER ICanada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

CanSIA SOLutions2

CanSIA’s MISSION:

To develop a strong, efficient, ethical and

professional Canadian solar industry, able

to service an expanding domestic market,

to provide innovative solar solutions to

world energy problems, and to play a

major role in promoting the transition to a

solar energy future worldwide.

CANSIA MEMBERSHIP

September 2007

Voting• Corporate I:

25+ employees or revenue>$3 million – $5,000

• Corporate II:6-24 employees or revenue

> $1 million – $1,500• Corporate III:

3-5 employees – $800• Corporate IV:

1-2 employees – $400

Non-voting• Large government

departments, utilities andenergy regulators: $1,000

• Small governmentdepartments and small

distribution companies: $500• Large non-profits and

educational institutions: $400• Small non-profits and

community groups: $250• Advocate/individual: $100

• Students (Must supply copyof student ID): $50

KEY SOLAR PLAYERS JOIN CANSIACanSIA recently welcomed

seven new Corporate I members,“all key players in the industry whowill help the association be moreproactive in dealing with issues ofconcern,” says executive directorElizabeth McDonald.

“Our growing membership is atestament to the fact the solar in-dustry is ideally positioned to of-fer its expertise to governmentsand the public at this key timewhen the world is looking for solu-tions to the effects of climatechange. The interest in CanSIAshows solar energy is the future,”she says.

In order to qualify as a Corpo-rate 1 member, companies musthave more than 25 employees orrevenue of over $3 million per year.

The new CanSIA Corporate Imembers are:

• BP Solar• Conergy Inc.• Day4 Energy Inc.• ICP Solar Technologies• SunPower Corp.• SunPower Parks Corp.• Sharp Electronics Solar

Energy Solutions Group n

3September 2007

ONTARIO DEMONSTRATES SOLAR LEADERSHIP

CanSIA SOLutions

See INDUSTRY page 12

Six New Initiatives Encourage Thermal, PV Uptake

New Ontario energy initiatives,including a target for 100,000 so-lar installations, demonstrate theprovince’s “leadership role” in thedevelopment of Canadian solarenergy, says CanSIA executivedirector Elizabeth McDonald.

Secured by funding from the2007 budget, a $150-million suiteof environmental energy programsdesigned to help homeownersand businesses with retrofits toproduce or conserve energy wereannounced in early summer. Pre-mier Dalton McGuinty formally in-troduced the package of programsbefore 700 senior corporate andgovernment leaders from acrossNorth America attending a confer-ence held by the Globe Founda-tion in Toronto. “There has neverbeen more green for going greenin the province of Ontario,” he said.

Within the package, six initia-tives will directly encourage theuptake of solar electric and solarthermal technologies.

One initiative that may in timeinfluence all the others is the for-mation of a task force of industryexperts and energy market spe-cialists whose job will be to advisethe government on how Ontariocan best achieve its 100,000 so-lar installations target. Before thetask force presents its findings,however, the other solar energyofferings from the McGuinty gov-ernment indicate homeowners willbe a big part of the plan.

“Ontarians know that fightingclimate change presents a hugeopportunity to save money andenergy, right at home,” said thepremier.

For homeowners, the five-year,$88-million Home Energy RetrofitProgram will offer a $500 rebateon the cost of installing a solar hotwater system, a sum matched bythe federal ecoENERGY Retrofitprogram.

Dalton McGuinty

There has neverbeen more green

for going green in theprovince of Ontario.

“

”

Another rebate program tailoredto fit with federal incentives issolely dedicated to the installationof solar thermal air and water heat-ing systems in industrial, commer-cial and institutional buildings—$14.4 million will fund a 25% re-bate on installation costs, to amaximum of $80,000, mirroringNatural Resources Canada’secoENERGY for Renewable Heatprogram. It is expected to gener-ate 500 installations over fouryears.

Al Clark, NRCan’s manager forrenewable heat programs, says hisdepartment is working on anagreement with Ontario that willfacilitate federal-provincial sharingof project information and createa single application process forconsumers. He’s pleased Ontarioand other provinces are combin-ing their own solar thermal incen-tives with federal programs.

“We think it’s a combination ofincreases in other energy costs,people’s interest in renewable en-ergy and the increasing maturityof the industry. All three of these

things are lining up to create aremuch higher interest in solar ther-mal, both water and air.”

Ontario has also extended itsprovincial retail sales tax rebate onqualifying renewable energy equip-ment, including solar electric andsolar thermal equipment, to Janu-ary 1, 2010.

A fifth initiative, and another fo-cused solely on solar energy, is thecreation of a one-stop centre forinformation. The provincial govern-ment is working with the Clean AirFoundation (CAF), a Toronto-based non-profit organization, toset up a web site and toll-freehotline. The free services will offerconsumers information on photo-voltaic and solar thermal technolo-gies, incentive programs, equip-ment manufacturers, events, othersources of information and financ-ing options.

“There’s a great opportunity inthe residential area, and there’swisdom in providing a place forconsumers to go for information,”says McDonald, who is alreadydiscussing the information compo-nent of the plan with the CAF. Thefoundation intends to partner withretailers, she says.

Easy access to solar informa-tion, she stresses, is an importantlink in the Ontario program chain.“I think closing that loop, having aplace to call where you can get in-formation, a central place, andthe concept of partnering with re-tailers, it’s terrific. That helps closethe loop because people don’t al-ways understand how solar works.”

Finally, the province is provid-ing $1.3 million over two years in apilot program that will finance resi-dential alternative and renewableenergy installations. Hydro Oneand Enersource Hydro Miss-issauga will offer zero-interest

September 2007

RENEWABLES FIGHTFOR ROLE IN

OFFSETS MARKET

CanSIA SOLutions4

PILOT TARGETS RESIDENTIAL SECTORNRCan Releases REI For Solar Thermal Projects

See STACKING page 7

Natural Resources Canada hasreleased a request for expressionsof interest (REI) in undertakingprojects that will install solar do-mestic hot water systems in Cana-dian homes.

“Large projects and innovativeapproaches to deployment are en-couraged,” says the REI document.The call, closing September 28, isfunded through the ecoENERGYfor Renewable Heat (ERH) pro-gram, and invites responses fromenergy utilities, residential-sectordevelopers and builders, munici-palities, provincial and territorialgovernments, non-governmentalorganizations, community buyers’groups or any organization “inter-ested in receiving federal financialassistance” in esatblishing residen-tial solar water heating projects.

“Internationally, countries thathave had real success in deploy-ing solar hot water have targetedthe residential sector, and inCanada, through previous pro-grams, we haven’t done much inthe residential sector,” says AlClark, NRCan’s manager of renew-able heat programs. Clark believesthe federal initiative will “completelychange” the deployment of residen-tial solar hot water in Canada.

CanSIA’s Elizabeth McDonaldsays the residential aspect of theinitiative, which will increase aware-ness and understanding of solarenergy through the visibility of theinstallations, is significant. “That’swhat got things going in Europe. Ithink that will do it here, and maybewe can catch up to the countrieswe have fallen behind.”

Proposed projects must be de-signed to install, in a minimum of200 homes, active systems incor-porating a pump. Installation sitesmust be single-family houses orsmall multi-unit residences. Cus-tomers can buy or lease the sys-tems, or buy heat from a solar en-ergy service provider. The maxi-

The federal government hasbeen consulting with stake-holders on its plan to regulategreenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions, but what role renewableenergy technologies will playwill not be clear until Environ-ment Canada issues its recom-mendations on key issues likeoffset trading and the govern-ment’s planned technologyfund sometime this fall.

The Conservative govern-ment released its 48-pageRegulatory Framework for AirEmissions in April, outlining itsplans to require industrial emit-ters to curb their emissions perunit of output, or so-calledemissions intensity, 18% by2010 and another 2% per yearthereafter, with the ultimategoal of reducing absolute emis-sions by 20% from current lev-els by 2020. Among the optionsto comply with the new GHGregulations, emitters will beable to trade offset credits cre-ated by non-regulated activities.But whether renewable energygenerators will be able to cre-ate and sell offsets is and hasbeen a lengthy and somewhatfiery debate.

The renewable sector had tofight for that right under the pre-vious Liberal government. Offi-cials were concerned about thedouble counting of reductionsand about the potential trans-fer of wealth from fossil fuel-in-tensive regions of the countryto those with abundant hydroresources.

“It’s important to note thatlast time the political interven-tion of the minister was actu-ally quite important. The bu-reaucracy was not keen and weexpect the bureaucracy is notkeen again,” says RobertHornung of the Canadian WindEnergy Association. n

mum contribution to an individualorganization, which will be a reim-bursement based on an amountper completed installation, is $2million. “If we had four very largeprojects that would almost depletethe funding, but I don’t anticipatethat,” Jeff Knapp, program officerin charge of the REI, says. “Be-cause of the nature of utilities—Ithink they’re a bit conservative—Ithink they’re going to go at this gen-tly.”

The REI indicates the number ofprojects should be sufficient to testa variety of approaches to deploy-ment “over a significant geographi-cal distribution.” Knapp says he hashad interest from about 25 utilitiesand developers and hopes at least10 agreements will be negotiatedwith successful respondents thisfall. Participants must completetheir projects by October 31, 2010.

To facilitate testing of differentapproaches participants will be re-quired to keep records of theirprojects for five years, but the calldocument recognizes a good dealof information about residentialsolar water heating initiatives is al-ready available, with numerousprograms ongoing in other coun-tries. While Canada can learn fromthose experiences, it says, “amade-in-Canada approach thatconsiders our particular climate,industry structures and socio-eco-nomic system will provide valuableCanada-specific experience andlearning.”

The $36 million ERH programhas a $9 million budget for the pilotinitiative, to be dispersed betweennow and March 2011. Applicantsare encouraged to solicit supple-mental funding for their projectsfrom municipal, provincial or otherfederal government sources, butERH funding will not combine withother government funding to ex-

CanSIA SOLutionsSeptember 2007 5

SASKATCHEWAN PROMOTES WATER, NOT AIR

See NEW page 11

The government of Saskatch-ewan is promoting solar thermalheating technologies, and hasworked closely with Natural Re-sources Canada to double or tri-ple federal installation incentivesand simplify the public applicationprocess. CanSIA, however, hasbeen left wondering why the prov-ince left solar air heating out in thecold.

In mid-August, the province’sOffice of Energy Conservation(OEC), under the jurisdiction of theSaskatchewan Research Council,announced the Solar Heating Ini-tiative for Today (SHIFT), which willpartially fund new solar water heat-ing systems tailored for “large, non-residential consumers.” The pro-gram, says the announcement, willprovide $700,000 per year, endingMarch 31, 2011, to businesses, in-dustries, multiple-unit residentialbuildings over three stories, insti-tutions and public buildings.

Saskatchewan, in addition toOntario and Nova Scotia, is thethird Canadian province to aug-ment the federal government’secoENERGY for Renewable Heat(ERH) incentive, which provides a25% rebate to a maximum of$80,000 towards the installation ofsolar water and air heating andgeothermal technologies. SHIFT,too, has an $80,000 ceiling on allprojects and matches the 25% fed-eral formula, with the exception ofinstallations in remote communi-ties where the incentive rises to40%.

But SHIFT has come up shortin recognition of solar thermal tech-nologies, says CanSIA executivedirector Elizabeth McDonald. Un-like the ecoENERGY initiative, andthe federal REDI initiative beforeit, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotiahave not included solar thermal airheating technologies in their pro-grams. CanSIA, says McDonald,plans to address the situation inSaskatchewan with a letter to thepremier’s office.

Chuck Lees, the Ministry of En-vironment’s acting director of greenpolicy, says the province saw aninterest in solar hot water heatingtechnology and acted on it, design-ing a program around that market.Now, he says, the province is in-terested in adding solar air heat-ing technology to the program inthe future, maybe next year.

“Our colleagues at NRCan tellus the technology is very good,”says Lees, “and the payback mayeven be better than solar hot wa-ter heating. In that light, as we gothrough this year looking at nextyear’s programming we’ll considerthat.”

Al Clark, NRCan’s manager forrenewable heat programs, saysSaskatchewan and the ministryhave signed an agreement to shareproject assessment data. They arealso providing a one-window appli-cation process. This model of pro-vincial-federal cooperation, saysClark, “is a huge step” towards of-fering consumers and industry asimplified incentive package.

In addition to SHIFT, Saskatch-ewan also extended and expandedits EnerGuide for Houses program,now offering provincial homeown-ers Canada’s most generous so-lar domestic hot water (SDHW)retrofit incentive, $1,500 whencombined with the $500 federal in-centive offered through theecoENERGY Retrofit program.

To receive the grant a home-owner must undergo a pre-retrofitenergy audit, and then completethe installation of a qualifyingSDHW system and post-retrofitaudit within 18 months. The pro-gram is managed by the province’sgovernment-owned natural gasdistributor, SaskEnergy, and is alsoscheduled to run to March 31,2011. Small businesses or organi-zations that use residential-sizedequipment in a structure similar toa residential dwelling are also eli-gible to participate in the program.

Dave Kelly, who represents

CanSIA’s ST caucus, believes pro-vincial enhancement of federal STinitiatives can “stir the market forsure,” and is particularly importantfor the ecoENERGY Retrofit pro-gram. “Right now, to get the auditsdone in Alberta, I think the cost isin the neighbourhood of $350. Toget $500 back it’s hardly worth do-ing unless you get of bunch of otherretrofits as well.”

Kelly says some “really big play-ers” are starting to look closely atthe Canadian ST market. HomeDepot, for example, now has anagreement to distribute Ontario-based EnerWorks’ CSA-certifiedsolar domestic hot water systemsthrough a number of stores in theGreater Toronto Area. Kelly’s chiefconcern with all this new activity isa lack of adequately trained install-ers, potentially leaving a void to befilled by “fly-by-night” operators whocould carelessly diminish the repu-tation of the industry.

As part of Saskatchewan’s so-lar program, says Lees, and withCanSIA’s assistance, the provinceran two ST installer training work-shops. Lees is encouraged by thefact that 51 people have now takenthe installer course in the province.He says officials “are really cogni-zant” of the need to ensure a pro-fessional workforce is available tomeet market demand.

“It’s a real key part of this, indus-try acceptance and trained install-ers. We want to continue to workon all of those fronts to make this asuccessful initiative.”

The province is also offering arebate on SDHW systems installedin new homes. To qualify for the in-centive, which is again adminis-tered by SaskEnergy, a residentmust build or purchase a newlyconstructed Energy Star qualifiedor R-2000 certified home. Theowner can receive $1,000 for thehome itself and another $1,000 forincluding a solar water heating sys-

September 2007 CanSIA SOLutions

CANSIA PUSHES TO INCLUDE SOLAR THERMAL

6

BC FEED-IN TARIFF PROPOSAL DISAPPOINTS INDUSTRYUtility Should Establish a Separate Price for Photovoltaic Electricity, says CanSIA

BC Hydro needs to establish aseparate tariff for photovoltaic elec-tricity in its proposed standing of-fer program if it is to tap into thebenefits of solar energy, saysCanSIA.

The utility released its draftterms and conditions for a stand-ing offer program for clean electric-ity projects between 50 kW and 10

MW in size in June. Under the plan,the program will provide a baseprice that ranges from $65/MWh to$79/MWh, depending on where theproject is located in the province.The tariff will be adjusted for infla-tion and for the time of day andmonth when the energy is deliv-ered. An additional payment of$3.05/MWh will be made forprojects that receive Canada’sEcoLogo or other environmentalcertification.

Installations less than 50 kW insize, the draft says, will be includedin BC Hydro’s existing net meter-ing program.

CanSIA is recommedningBC’s standing offer include theopportunity for solar thermalapplications to displace elec-tric hot water heating. “We un-derstand that this would be es-pecially useful for rural resi-dents and for those living onVancouver Island where natu-ral gas is not as widely avail-able.” Solar water heating candeliver energy in the home forunder 10¢/kWh, said CanSIAin a letter to BC Hydro, aboutthe same cost as utility-scalewind power “but with no distri-bution costs and no environ-mental impact issues.”

Right now, approximately

The utility was directed to de-velop a standing offer program aspart of the province’s new energyplan, released in February. ButCanSIA’s executive director Eliza-beth McDonald calls both the en-ergy plan and the proposed stand-ing offer tariff shortsighted.

“The goals set out in the planignore the potential benefits of so-

lar energy. The tariff is unworkablefor solar photovoltaic and does notaddress the high cost of implemen-tation.”

In a letter to BC Hydro providingfeedback on the draft terms andconditions, CanSIA argued PV cansupply a “significant part” of BC’snew energy requirements and hasthe promise of widespread deploy-ment in both urban load centresand more isolated regions. “SolarPV is the only renewable energyalternative that can be so easilyand universally adopted and canbe installed by residents and busi-nesses large and small.”

The association recommendsthe utility set a goal of making PV10% of incremental resources by2025, equivalent to about 2 TWhof electricity a year. It also askedBC Hydro to implement a separatefeed-in tariff for PV that is highenough to support rooftop installa-tions as well as larger commercialprojects, pointing out that solar pro-duction costs currently range be-tween 30¢/kWh to 60¢/kWh andare falling at a rate of 5% a year.

BC Hydro spokesperson GillianRobinson would only say the utilityis “looking to the Innovative CleanEnergy Fund to bring in solarpower.” The $25 million fund, alsoannounced in the new energy plan,will assist the research, develop-ment and demonstration of emerg-ing technologies.

John Stonier is with Vancouverarea-based PV project and tech-nology developer Day4 Energy andsays he is disappointed with howBC’s standing offer tariff is comingtogether. “Six or eight cents isn’tenough. PV in Vancouver probablyneeds about 60 cents to really getany take-up. That would make iteconomic. You’d get a paybacksomewhere in the area of eight to10 years, but you’re building a sys-tem with a 25-year warranty thatwill probably last 50 to 100 years.”

The fact that the Winter Olym-pics Games are coming to BC in2010 also provides the provincewith a unique opportunity, he says.“The whole world will be coming toBC for the Olympics and it is cru-cial that Canada show how cuttingedge our energy production tech-nologies are,” he says. “BC musttake advantage of the fast growingopportunities to create jobs andbuild the provincial economy bydeveloping its existing sustainablesolar electric energy industry.”

BC Hydro plans to go to the BCUtilities Commission in October forapproval of the program. n

20% of hot water tanks in Brit-ish Columbia are electric andwater heating accounts forabout 25% of household en-ergy consumption. Not onlycan a move to solar thermaltechnology help shave peakenergy consumption, arguesCanSIA, but it could also be-come a revenue generatingopportunity.

“This year a utility companyin Finland is installing over20,000 utility metered solar hotwater appliances; this followsother large utility deploymentsin the Netherlands,” it says.Similar models, it adds, areemerging in the US. n

7 CanSIA SOLutionsSeptemberApril 2007

CONFERENCE WILL ASSESS NEW OPPORTUNITIESNew business opportunities,

government policy, which hasclearly advanced since this timelast year, and a pressing need forthe Canadian solar industry tocome together on issues of mar-ket growth will engage participantsat CanSIA’s Solar Conference2007, November 18-21 at Toron-to’s King Street Holiday Inn.

“There has been a lot of activityin the last few months. There willbe new opportunities to talk about,”says CanSIA’s executive director,Elizabeth McDonald.

The Toronto location is a changefor CanSIA, which has traditionallyheld its annual conference in Ot-tawa. An advantage of switching toToronto, explains McDonald, is thatit is a hub of solar activity, both asa city and provincial business cen-tre. Canada’s largest solar electricgeneration facility is in Toronto, asare numerous significant solar ther-mal installations, and Ontario ishome to the country’s most com-prehensive suite of solar energypolicies and incentives.

“One of the things about beingin Toronto, and you’ll see this re-flected in the agenda, it’s a placewhere there’s a lot of focus on busi-

ness,” says McDonald. “And we’llattract more participation from thegovernment of Ontario. Last yearthere was a big policy angle. Thisone is really going to have a busi-ness side to it.”

The conference will launch, fol-lowing an opening breakfast, witha plenary session focused on thebusiness of solar energy. Other ple-nary sessions, each with an engag-ing moderator and expert panel-lists, will look at marketing, re-search and development and gov-ernment policy. Each plenary as-sembly will be followed by two orthree breakout sessions based onthe results of CanSIA’s call for pa-pers.

While the final decision onbreakout presentations has yet tobe determined, McDonald sug-gests CMHC’s report on theEQuilibrium housing initiative, anational competition through which12 winning teams are currentlybuilding net-zero-energy houses, isa good example of what delegatescan expect. “A couple of the win-ning teams are in the Toronto area,and we may bring a team in sopeople can see what’s happening,what worked and what didn’t. I think

that would be very interesting.”In addition, an expanded

tradeshow will be more closelyaligned with conference activities,says McDonald. This will in part beaccomplished by holding the open-ing breakfast and cocktail recep-tion in the tradeshow area, sheexplains, enhancing opportunitiesfor networking and doing business.And as is customary, solar installertraining workshops and certifica-tion exams will be offered.

Solar Conference 2007 is thecentral event of, and an essentialoccasional for anyone connectedto the Canadian solar thermal andPV industries. It will be CanSIA’slargest annual conference to date,attracting government representa-tives, non-governmental organiza-tions, utilities, the financial commu-nity, architects, builders and devel-opers. With more than 400 del-egates and 50 exhibitors expectedto attend, there is a possibility thisyear’s event will sell-out, so theCanSIA office is encouraging par-ticipants to register soon.

For updates and registration in-formation visit www.cansia.ca/conference2007.asp or call 1-866522-6742 ext. 221. n

ceed 50% of total project costs,except for non-profit organizations.This so-called stacking provision,warns Knapp, is a little complex. “I

know this can be done economi-cally by a well-operated utility,” saysKnapp. “Once they’ve had a go atit, they’re going to discover theydon’t need 50% of their costs to becovered by government. Once they

get economies of scale in placeand figure out what they are do-ing, they hone their marketing a lit-tle bit, they’re going to find they cando it with less funding from the gov-ernment.” n

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

STACKING PROVISION LIMITS TOTAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION

September 2007 CanSIA SOLutions8

SOLAR THERMAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE TAKES SHAPENatural Resources Canada is

ready to support a program that willincrease training opportunities forsolar thermal equipment installers,says NRCan’s senior manager forrenewable heat programs, Al Clark.

“We have one objective, to helpensure there is industry capacityto respond to growth,” he says “Wehave initiatives out there we expectwill significantly impact on demandfor systems, so in parallel we haveprograms and activities in place totry and make sure the industry ca-pacity is there.”

This, explains Clark, meansfunding has been set aside to as-sist a now loosely formed nationalST education committee, with rep-resentatives from NRCan, CanSIA,the Association of Canadian Com-munity Colleges (ACCC) and theElectricity Sector Council (ESC), anon-profit corporation dedicated toworkforce development in the Ca-nadian electricity and renewableenergy sectors.

“We’re waiting for a proposalfrom ACCC, CanSIA and the Elec-tricity Sector Council. All three ofthese groups are talking to eachother, and this is new.”

The dean of computer and en-gineering technology and skilledtrades and tourism at Ontario’s St.Lawrence College, Don Young, rep-resents ACCC. He sat on an ACCCrenewable energy advisory com-mittee on training, which inspiredthe new stakeholder meetings onST training. Young says ACCC islooking for direction from CanSIA’s

board on how it wants to proceed.“The real neat thing at this point isCanSIA has some willing and verystrong partners,” says Young. “Thecollege system in this country has150 institutional members with 900campuses and 900 communities.That is a pretty good partner.”

While the stakeholder group, stillofficially forming, is new, the ambi-tion to develop a standardized cur-

riculum for training ST equipmentinstallers, and then make it avail-able to students across the coun-try, is not. I fact, it has been dis-cussed for years, says CanSIA re-search officer Wesley Johnston.“The way CanSIA would like to seeit go is have the program curricu-lum criteria set out. Then as de-mand grows, province by province,it can be picked up. The books willalready be available, and commu-nity colleges will administer the pro-gram.

While CanSIA and ACCC beginto define some terms of referencefor this new work, NRCan has al-ready established a three-stepcourse of action, says Clark. The

first step will be the developmentof occupational standards, whichwill outline what the ST industryneeds from the graduate of a train-ing facility. Clarke says ESC, work-ing with the other associations, willhead up this activity. The secondstep, curriculum development, willbe the primary task of ACCC.

“We’ve invited ACCC to make aproposal to us for projects thatwould help develop curriculum inthis area,” says Clark. “We’re look-ing for national curriculum devel-opment guidelines, and ACCCplans to work very closely withCanSIA on this.”

The third step in NRCan’s planis developing a system wherebyCanadian ST installers and tech-nicians will be certified, which issomething everyone agrees is cru-cial. What is unclear at this point,though, is which organizationshould ultimately administer thecertification of graduates.

Along with a handful of collegesin the country, CanSIA currentlytrains ST and PV installers. Theassociation also offers certificationexams. Dave Kelly, president ofCalgary’s Sedmek Inc., is one ofCanSIA’s primary instructors andworks with the association’s STcaucus. He and Young agree, whileCanSIA’s courses are very good,the job of training is destined toreside with the colleges.

Certification, on the other hand,could remain within the associa-

We have oneobjective, to helpensure there is in-dustry capacity torespond to growth.

“

”Al Clark, NRCan

See DEMAND page 9

CanSIA SOLutionsSeptember 2007 9

PV TRAINING NEEDNOT ADDRESSED

While a far-reaching plan toincrease the capacity of Ca-nadian colleges to train STtechnicians is falling intoplace, less is being done toaddress the needs of the pho-tovoltaic side of the industry.

“Why would we support PVeducation federally? “It’s noteconomic. That’s why we don’thave subsidies for it. It’s at aresearch and developmentstage. Our focus is solar ther-mal,” says NRCan’s Al Clark.

“That’s not saying we thinkR&D should not be done in thephotovoltaic area. That’s whywe’re supporting, through theNational Research Council,the Solar Buildings ResearchNetwork.”

The network, with 10 Ca-nadian universities, is de-signed to provide a nationallyaccessible base for R&D intosolar and building technolo-gies tailored to Canada’s cli-mate and marketplace. It willreceive nearly $5.4 million infederal funding over the nextfive years. “My feeling is thegovernment is putting itsmoney toward PV where itshould, “ says Clark.

Federal initiatives launchedin early 2007 re-establishedand increased ST installation

tion’s jurisdiction. “Ideally we wantto have that CanSIA course taughtin the colleges, and have plumb-ers come out with a solar ticket,”says Kelly. “I think CanSIA couldretain the job of certification or itcould move on to whoever the cer-tification body or accreditation bodyis now for plumbers, and electricalon the PV side.”

Young says it makes sense forCanSIA to retain the certificationrole. The question is do they cer-tify individuals or do they accreditprograms, or do they do both, heasks? It’s one of the issues on thetable, he says.

“If we can get to the step of hav-ing a curriculum accredited byCanSIA so graduates from accred-ited programs can immediatelybegin employment and be recog-nized as suitable installers ormaintainers we’ve moved the yard-stick a long way.”

Kelly says recent progress onfederal and provincial ST incentiveprograms is “fantastic,” but is wor-ried existing education capacity isinsufficient to produce enoughqualified technicians to meet anincrease in market demand. Theresult, he says, could be the prolif-eration of installers who cannotmaintain the professional stand-ards of the industry, a situation thatcould diminish the reputation of thetechnology. Certainly, in the nearterm, the desire to bring certified

installers onto the Canadian mar-ket will not be easily fulfilled.

“There are three certified ST in-stallers in the country, plus theCanSIA instructors, which prob-ably makes a total of about six orseven,” says Kelly. “All the instruc-tors are in the solar industry, andall of us are busy and find it hardto spare the time to go out andteach. That’s a bit of a bottleneck,I think. If business takes off like weexpect it to I don’t think we’ll be ableto keep up.”

Clark also recognizes there issome urgency to the task of solarindustry workforce development,indicating the three stages toNRCan’s plan would ideally bedone sequentially but to speedprogress will unfold in parallel. Heexpects occupational standardswill be established by April 2008.Also in spring 2008, he hopesACCC will be working on the de-velopment of “some basic curricu-lum.” Young believes students willbe enrolling in ST training pro-grams at Canadian colleges withintwo years.

Certification, says Clark, “will bea little bit” down the road. “Butthere’s going to be pressure forcertification from our retrofit pro-gram,” he says. “The retrofit peo-ple would like to be able to indi-cate any of the installations theysupport will be installed by certi-fied installers. To do that we needa lot more people certified. It’s anissue.” n

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

DEMAND STRAINS RESOURCES

See CANSIA page 11

September 2007 CanSIA SOLutions10

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PV DEVELOPERS BATTLE DOUBT NOT ENOUGH SOLARIN 20-YEAR PLAN

l ieve, are active now,” saysOptiSolar Farms vice presidentPeter Carrie.

The other large-scale PV pro-ponent to already appear on theRESOP contract rolls is Toronto-based Skypower Corp., whichhas signed two 9.12 MW agree-ments. SkyPower has a joint ven-ture partnership with SunEdisonCanada, a subsidiary of Mary-land-based SunEdison LLC.SunEdison’s aggregated PV in-stallation experience is approach-ing 25 MW across the US, includ-ing close to 9 MW the companyowns and operates, selling elec-tricity to customers at 54 differ-ent sites. In addition, it is nowbuilding an 8.2 MW PV plant inAlamosa, Colorado, which it willuse to deliver electricity undercontract to midwestern utility XcelEnergy. “Frankly, people don’t be-lieve in the power of solar to scale,and to be material, saysSunEdison CEO Jigar Shah. “It’sthe biggest problem we face.

“Most people think solar is idealfor cabins and residential systemsand will never be suitable to pro-vide a significant amount of en-ergy in a place like Ontario.” That’sa challenge, says Shah, becausepeople who doubt utility-scale PVare often making decisions abouthow vigorously they are going tosupport the projects, and abouthow quickly they’re going to es-tablish rules around development.

“People think it will be a one-off project, and we say no. Wehave to develop the infrastructure,the regulations and the know-how, in-house, because this is go-ing to become a regular occur-rence. If solar is going to becomea meaningful energy source itmeans it has to be part of the lexi-con that everyone uses, whetherit’s the tax commissioner, the On-tario economic development peo-

ple, the utility regulators or utilityemployees themselves.”

The SunEdison-SkyPower teamproposes to fulfill one OPG con-tract with a northern installation inThunder Bay, while the second willbe located in south-central NorfolkCounty. Shah, who thinks it is pre-mature to identify a constructionschedule, says a contract has beensigned with Phoenix-based FirstSolar Inc. to supply the modules,and the Ontario regulatory processin underway.

Combined, Ontario’s proposedsolar farm projects are demandingthe attention of officials in five mu-nicipal districts and as many localelectricity distribution companies.Numerous news releases from thedevelopers include comments fromutility company executives andmunicipal politicians, who indicateenthusiasm for the solar farm con-cept.

“Having a large renewable gen-erator connected to our system willhave a positive impact on local re-liability and we recognize that thisproject represents a significantcontribution to meeting the futureelectricity needs of the Province,”said Robert Mace, the presidentand CEO of Thunder Bay Hydro.

Mayor Randy Hope of Chatham-Kent, home to OptiSolar’s Tilburyproject, said the project would helpthe community achieve its strate-gic goal of attracting renewableenergy investment. “Sustainablegrowth in our municipality dependson investment in environmentallysound energy, training people tobuild and operate sustainable tech-nology and building partnershipsthat will develop next generationenergy and environmental indus-tries.”

The OPA July report indicatesthe solar electric share of RESOPcontracts has risen to 16.8%, sec-ond to wind generation at 73.4%,but leading bio-energy at 5.2% andsmall hydro at 4.6%. n

In late August, the OntarioPower Authority (OPA) filed itsproposed 20-year strategy forthe province’s electricity sys-tem with the Ontario EnergyBoard. The agency’s AmirShalaby introduced the Inte-grated Power System Plan(IPSP) in a stakeholder tele-conference and outlined re-newable energy projections.

By 2027, said Shalaby, theOPA expects hydropowergeneration capacity will beabout 2,500 MW, wind about5,000 MW and biomass about500 MW. He said standard of-fer contracts signed so farhave encouraged the OPA toproject 100 MW of commer-cial PV generation and per-haps a fur ther 200 MWthrough conservation.

The OPA’s Brian Hay saysthe second number, which isactually an expected range of80-200 MW, is tallied underconservation measures be-cause planners expect homeand business owners to installPV behind their meters andconsume at least some of thepower onsite. “And we thinkof what happens off the grid,behind the meter, as a formof conservation,” says Hay.“We’ve taken what we con-sider to be a prudent ap-proach to solar, and if itmoves faster from a technol-ogy point of view and a socialacceptance point of view wewill amend our plan accord-ingly.”

Elizabeth McDonald ofCanSIA says there is “simplynot enough” PV in the planand believes it should includesolar thermal energy.“Ontarians want solar energy.They want a lot of it, and theywant it now.” n

11 CanSIA SOLutionsSeptember 2007

SOLAR TRAINING COURSES IN CANADA

September 24-27, 2007:Solar Power 2007, LongBeach, California. Web: www.solarpowerconference.com/

October 5-8, 2007: Interna-tional Home Show, Toronto.Web: www.home-show.net

November 4-6, 2007: 5thAnnual Conference of the In-dependent Power ProducersAssocation of BC, Vancouver.Web site: www.ippbc.com/2007_conference/

November 13-14, 2007:APPrO 2007: 19th AnnualCanadian Power Conference,Toronto. Web site: http://conference.appro.org/confer-ence2007/

November 18-21: CanSIA’sSolar Conference 2007, To-ronto, Web: www.cansia.ca/conference2007.asp

For a full list of upcomingevents, please visit CanSIA’sweb site at: www.cansia.ca/up comingevents.asp n

CanSIA Solar Hot Water SystemInstaller Certficate: CanSIA isoffering the course at its annualconference, planned for November18-21 in Toronto. PV training willalso be available.More information is available at:www.cansia.ca/education.asp

Energy Systems EngineeringTechnician and TechnologyPrograms : St. Lawrence Col-

lege offers hands on experiencewith system design, photovoltaicsand solar water and air heating.

(613) 544-5400 ext. 1528www.sl.on.ca/fulltime/F1002.htm

energyhouse.ati.sl.on.ca/

Introduction to Renewable En-ergy: Mohawk College offers an in-troductory course on renewableenergy, including solar, wind, hy-dro and ground source energy.

(905) 526-6458www.mohawkcollege.ca

PV technician’s certificate:Seneca College, in partnershipwith CanSIA, offers an eleven-parttraining program for people whowant to become professionallytrained in the design and installa-

tion of solar photovoltaic sys-tems.

(800) 572-0712www.senecac.on.ca/eto/

pages/photovol.html

Introduction to photovoltaics:The British Columbia Institute ofTechnology offers a two-levelprogram of study in off- and on-grid PV systems.

604-434-1610www.bcit.ca/admission/register

Renewable energy work-shops: The Kortright Centre forConservation offers four work-shops, three with graduatedtraining on how to generate elec-tricity using solar and wind en-ergy systems, and one on solarwater heating.

(905) 832-2289 ex: 239www.trca.on.ca

SOLARCALENDAR

CANSIA WANTS FEDERAL PV SUPPORTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

incentives through theecoENERGY for Renewable Heatprogram but did not introduce a PVincentive. The ecoENERGY forRenewable Power program targetsthe installation of 4,000 MW of gen-erating capacity from wind,biomass, small hydro and oceanenergy by providing a 1¢/kWh pay-ment for the first 10 years of aproject’s life.

CanSIA executive director Eliza-beth McDonald says the associa-

tion would like to see the federalgovernment more active in both PVand ST. She points out PV installa-tions have grown in countrieswhere govermnents have providedsome form of incentive. “I’m con-cerned we’ve only got part of it,” shesays.

McDonald suggests CanSIA’sNovember Solar Conference 2007may be a good time to present PV’scase to governmental delegates.“Hopefully we can convince ourfriends at the federal governmentthat PV exists as well.” n

tem. Dave Hepburn, president ofthe Saskatchewan Home BuildersAssociation, estimates that closeto 1,000 new homes will be builtto meet the enhanced Energy Staror R-2000 efficiency standardsbefore the end of 2007, which rep-resents about 45% of the total ex-pected new home starts in Sas-katchewan. The program was an-nounced in late June and isscheduled to conclude March 31,2008. n

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

NEW HOME REBATE

For a full list of trainingopportunities, please visit

CanSIA’s web site at: www.cansia.ca/education.asp

September 2007 CanSIA SOLutions12

SOLAR HAS BRIGHT FUTURE IN YEARS TO COME

loans to their combined customerbase of 350,000 people. The dis-tribution companies will promotedifferent options and facilitate fi-nancing through a third party. Pro-vincial funding will eliminate cus-tomer interest payments and off-set the utilities’ administrative costs.

“We’re certain this will be sucha success that this program will

grow to be established across theprovince,” says McDonald. In fact,she adds, CanSIA hopes otherprovinces and territories will takenote and follow in Ontario’s path.“What’s outstanding is Ontario hasbecome a leader. I’m talking to peo-ple in other provinces who ask whatwe suggest they should do. I saytake a page from Ontario’s book.Not that it’s a perfect page, but it’sa leadership page.”

The Ontario Ministry of Energy’sSylvia Kovesfalvi says more infor-mation on the province’s new en-ergy programs will start to becomeavailable in the fall. “We’ve had lotsof stakeholders express an inter-est in becoming involved with theorganization of some of the solarinitiatives, like the 100,00 solar in-stallations taskforce,” saysKovesfalvi. “We’re in the process ofsetting up that task force now.” n

Beginning a new job during thesunny months of late spring andsummer as Executive Director ofCanSIA would seem to me to behighly appropriate. It seems thedays have gone by quickly as Iwork to familiarize myself withCanSIA, its issues, its membersand its inner workings. I have beenvery lucky – the Association’sBoard of Directors has been ex-tremely helpful and supportive. Thestaff – Sharon Chester (formerlyHenry), Wes Johnston and KristaMayer before she left for Asia – hasbeen both helpful and cheerful dur-ing my settling-in months. And, ofcourse, I am lucky to be followingthe very capable Rob McMonaglewho is now really making thingshappen at Toronto’s office of energyefficiency.

It is not a secret that my back-ground is not solar energy, or evenrenewable energy. However, I be-lieve this should give me an inter-esting perspective.

The June 2 issue of The Econo-mist focused on climate changeand the renewable energy sectorand said “attitudes have shiftedsharply over the past six years.” Itnotes that solar is enjoying its big-gest boom ever, worldwide.

Where does Canada sit in rela-tion to the rest of the world? We allknow the answer – too far behind.We also know that every poll is tell-ing us that Canadians want to catchup.

CanSIAEDITORIALby Elizabeth McDonald,Executive Director

There has certainly been a lotof activity in recent months – posi-tive steps are being made at thefederal and provincial levels. Thecity of Toronto is working hard tobe a leader. There seems to behigher adoption of solar thermalacross the country and that is greatnews. Some challenge the poten-tial role PV can play – but the Eu-ropean experience is important toobserve. Given the right economicincentives and the fact that we haveplenty of sunshine, PV has the abil-ity to displace peak load electricitydemand, offer long-term price sta-bility and take pressure off thetransmission system, all while low-ering CO

2 emissions. Talk about a

win-win situation!Members and supporters of

CanSIA know better than anyonethe benefits that solar can bring.Our goal now has to be to reinforcethat message again and again todecision makers at all levels of gov-ernment. We also have to work toeducate Canadians because manyof them are still unsure of whatsolar can do and how it works.

Over the past few months, I havetried to raise the profile of CanSIAand its members with a stronger

media presence. At the end of Sep-tember, we are partnering with theCanadian Consulate in Los Ange-les, Industry Canada and the Gov-ernment of Canada to maximizethe opportunities for CanSIA mem-bers at Solar Power 2007. I havebeen meeting with many of the as-sociations’ supporters to get theirviews of where the industry shouldbe going and what CanSIA needsto do. Thanks to Rob and the workof CanSIA’s board of directorsover the years, the association isrespected every where I havegone.

In November, we will hold ourfirst annual conference outside Ot-tawa. We have already begun pro-moting the event and hope we aredesigning a program that will attractas many of you as possible. If weare successful, and depending onyour feedback, we may take thatevent somewhere else next year.At Solar Conference 2007, we willalso be re-launching SOLutions ina new glossier format as well asmaking our directory available inprint format.

All of this is intended to educatepeople to the advantages of solarand to drive more business toCanSIA members. There is a lot todo as well as significant opportu-nity. Our success depends on yoursupport. I look forward to workingwith you over the months and yearsto come – a bright future for all ofus. n

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INDUSTRY HOPES OTHER PROVINCES, TERRITORIES TAKE NOTE