KCP Energy and industry news and events
Solar project kicks off at Biosphere
Canmore Mayor Ron Casey, Janne Hicklin of Climate Change Central, Canmore CAO Don Kochan, and Geoff Domenico of KCP Energy show off a solar panel at the Biosphere Institute Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 26).
Photo: Craig Douce
By Tanya Foubert
Mar 01 2008
Operations at the Bioshphere Institute became a little greener this week after a solar power project was launched to supply its offices with electricity.
Canmore is one of 20 towns across the province to take part in a solar program thanks to a $350,000 grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Mayor Ron Casey applauded the project, saying taking steps toward a more sustainable society requires incremental changes like this one.
"It is the right thing to do and moves us incrementally toward where we want to go," Casey said. "This is about us as a community talking about it, creating a language and a culture."
KCP Energy owner Geoff Domenico said municipalities need to take the opportunity to lead by example and in this sense Canmore definitely is.
Domenico installed the six solar modules worth about $14,000 on the roof of the Senior's Centre downtown that will produce 1,100 kilowatt hours of electricity over the year. The other component, he said, is an inverter located inside the building that converts the direct current into an alternating current that can be used to power anything plugged in.
"If there is energy being provided... that gets passed through and into the energy of the building," Domenico said. "You can save money by investing in solar power today."
Of course, the Biosphere is still hooked up to the electrical grid, but he said the more energy brought in by the solar modules on the roof, the less reliance there is on outside power, which in Alberta is 80 per cent generated by burning coal.
Over its lifetime, a system like the one installed this week can save a family $50,000, Domenico added.
"I believe by putting solar in place we set an example for future generations," he said.
Project coordinator Janne Hicklin said anyone can monitor the electrical output of the solar system by going to www.lassothesun.ca to see what levels are being produced. She said the project aims in part to build capacity in the solar industry provincially and show people it can be done."We are working to try to make this process easier for anyone to install a grid-connected system like this," Hicklin said.
But the project, which the Town of Canmore and all 20 other municipalities contributed $17,500 to, also provides technical support and training in addition to the website.
Biosphere institute director Melanie Watt said the decision to put the solar project in their building made sense. She said the Biosphere Institute would be able to provide the interpretation of the equipment in its Eco-Idea Centre and they have already had calls about the modules on the roof.
But what if the solar modules produce more energy than is being consumed? Hicklin said the surplus energy would go back into the electrical grid system and issues around that process is where provincial legislation will change next. Right now, if you add energy to the grid you can get money back for it, but you must be a member of the Alberta Electric System Operators. Hicklin said, though, the cost to join and the amount that can be made practically cancel each other out.
But there is a new policy in the works to make that easier and would not require individuals to go through the same process as 40 megawatt hour coal powered systems.
Please note the following clarification: “Over its lifetime, a system like the one installed this week can save a family $50,000, Domenico added.” - The $50,000 lifetime savings number is for a Solar Thermal system not a Solar PV system which is what was installed on the Town of Canmore Seniors centre. Geoff Domenico, KCP Energy Inc.
