Solar Articles

Micro Photovoltaic Arrays Need Planning for Peak Performance

If you are planning to convert your home to solar power, the first thing you will need to know is how much power you will need. You can spend a lot of time and effort going through each of your electric powered items and adding up the kilowatts required to run each one and then add them up, but chances are you will either forget about one or more of them or get tired of the process shortly after you start. The better way would be to look at your past electric bills. >Full Article

Solar Partnership Takes Advantage of Green Energy Act

SPP is a California-based independent solar energy producer that develops, owns, and operates distributed facilities in the continental US and Hawaii. The company promises "clean energy without the hassles or costs of solar facility ownership and maintenance." JCM is a financial advisory company with head offices in Toronto and London, England. It provides start-up capital exclusively to solar projects and has worked extensively in Ontario in the past. The pair will use the new fund for SPP's projects as well as to aid other companies with projects already in the pipeline. >Full Article

FIT, MicroFIT Money Well-Spent

The FIT program pays owners of green energy projects above-market rates to feed electricity into the grid from renewable sources such as solar and wind. The microFIT brings these benefits to the levels of communities and individuals and pays some of the highest prices of either program to projects of 10 kW and less. These high prices have opened up a range of opportunities for workers with photovoltaic (PV) certification and other renewable energy training. >Full Article

Partnership Provides Customers, Certified Workers with Solar Panels, Training

Ontario's solar industry will benefit from a new partnership between Toronto's AS Solar, Inc. and ECS Clean Energy Solutions, Ltd. (ECS), based out of British Columbia. Together, the companies will provide the province's certified solar workers with a single source for the supplies necessary at each stage of a solar panel installation, as well as training on each product.>Full Article

Photowatt Ontario Offers Product Development and Solar Installation

Photowatt Ontario is the site of ATS's solar product manufacturing, project development, and installation services. Its first undertaking in the new facility is the production of a new line of 100MW photovoltaic modules. The Cambridge plant created around 150 new jobs with this project, and the company hopes to meet residential and commercial demand for solar capabilities throughout Ontario. As demand grows, ATS expects to hire more employees. The company hopes to expand its facilities and resources beyond its initial capacity to reach a broader market. This optimistic forecast means that solar job preparation could be an ideal way for Ontario's workers to access new career opportunities. >Full Article

Solar Energy Industry Flourishes in FIT's First Year

The Alliance's report also shares good news about energy independence. The FIT has helped spur a long-awaited democratization of the energy supply. Ontario already has the most community ownership of renewable energy on the continent; more than 22,000 people have applied to receive the government's incentives for "green" projects. >Full Article

Solar Power At Home

First off solar panels are often either bulky and huge or numerous. They have to be. A car's length worth of solar panels would only be strong enough to power an electric hair dryer. Which means that there would need to be 10 times as many to power something that we'd probably use for hours (i.e. a computer). We take the use of electricity for granted when it comes to things like that, never considering just how many watts of power we're using to simply turn on something like a microwave or lamp. So to reiterate, the more solar cells you have, the more power you collect. The problem is that we're in the age of portability and no one wants to walk around with that many solar cells plastered everywhere just so that they can listen to their iPod. Accessibility equals desirability and even at home, the easier it is to work with or move something, the happier a consumer will be.>Full Article

Cross-Border Partnership Pairs Solar Technology with Energy Efficiency

Pure Energies is a Toronto-based solar company that specializes in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of solar systems. The company has carved out a niche in the Ontario solar industry by providing access to high-end solar technology at little or no cost to the consumer. This service enables the company and Ontarians to share the high prices offered by the FIT, which for residential-sized solar installations, range from 63.5 to 80.2 cents/kWh. These prices are locked into twenty-year contracts, for the duration of which Pure Energies guarantees its systems. >Full Article

Italian Solar PV Company Training First Seventy Workers in Ontario

An experienced Italian solar PV company has set up its first Canadian subsidiary in Ontario and is gearing up to train its first seventy workers at a new plant in Mississauga. Silflab Ontario, Inc. will benefit from the thirty years' experience of its parent company, Silflab Spa, as it manufacturers high-efficiency silicone solar modules that meet the requirements of the province's feed-in tariff (FIT) program. >Full Article

Company Sets Stage for Solar Power Production in Mississauga, Ontario

When Silfab SpA unveiled its plans for the production facility last June, it announced that its investment for the first phase of the project equalled $15 million (Canadian). With the facility now secured, Silfab Ontario estimates production will commence in 2011, enabling it to reach 60 MW capacity by the end of the initial year and grow to 180 MW by 2012. >Full Article

New Standards to Fill Void in Provincial FIT Program

Final drafts of the new training criteria should be complete by the summer of 2011. According to NETCO President, Phil Flemming, construction electricians will require an additional sixteen to twenty-four hours of training before they are qualified to install solar projects under the new system. He expects that the country's PV training providers will align themselves with the CSA's standards once the criteria are final. >Full Article

Enfinity Educates Building Owners About Solar Power

Ontario solar power company Enfinity Canada Limited, has expanded its solar energy business to include outreach and education initiatives. On September 9, 2010, Enfinity made available by download the Executive Brief portion of its document titled 'Key Considerations for Developing Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Installations'. Enfinity is hoping that this document will act as a blueprint for building and real estate owners to fully understand the value of a well-designed solar power project, and methods to avoid the possible pitfalls of contracting an inexperienced start-up.>Full Article

Ontario Building Momentum in Solar Installation

Although 2009 was a record year for the province, according to the Canadian Solar Industry Association CanSIA), 2010 could be even stronger, with the association predicting another 100-200 MW of solar PV capacity for Ontario. Already, 100 MW of projects have been installed throughout the province, with an additional 100 slated for a number of larger projects in the pipeline. >Full Article

Solar Buyer Beware

My experience in the Florida solar energy business is that most contractors fail to apply for and receive permits.>Full Article

Solar Electric? Wait!

When making recommendations for commercial and residential applications, keep the following three goals in mind.>Full Article

SopoApps Creates Solutions for the Applications Challenge

In the solar thermal industry a key problem behind technology adoption is the lack of available knowledge in applications engineering.>Full Article

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