Alberta Solar

Egon · Feb 15, 2016

Information on a newly built community near Calgary Alberta that utilizes community solar heating.

[video]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Landing_Solar_Community[/video]

RalphVa · Feb 16, 2016

Around here, you'd have to place the panels in a lot to have it feed into the end of a lateral in the power distribution for the neighborhood.

Then you'd have the problem of maintenance. Who does it, etc.

Ralph

Egon · Feb 16, 2016

RalphVa said:
Around here, you'd have to place the panels in a lot to have it feed into the end of a lateral in the power distribution for the neighborhood.

Then you'd have the problem of maintenance. Who does it, etc.

Ralph

Do a Google and read up on it!

The video was about heat not power.

Looking4new · Feb 17, 2016

Innovative to say the least.
I guess having a big old wood stove to pick up the slack would be 'out of the question'.

Egon · Feb 17, 2016

Looking4new said:
Innovative to say the least.
I guess having a big old wood stove to pick up the slack would be 'out of the question'.

The heat storage system intriques me. I've often wondered if something similar could be utilized as basement for single house.

Don't know about wood stoves but, if I recall correctly additional heat is added at the central station.

Knight9 · Feb 21, 2016

Interesting technology for sure. I'm sure the $5.525 million in subsidies out of the $7 million cost, or almost 80% coverage, was a great kickstart to the project.

buickanddeere · Feb 21, 2016

ROI will still be upside down even with the tax payer and rate payer footing the bill. The days are short and the sun is weak during Alberta winters . Natural gas is cheap.

Egon · Feb 21, 2016

Eighty percent of heat supplied by Solar Power in Alberta; is that considered a failure?

Egon · Feb 21, 2016

A Danish Island. The wind and solar seem to work for them.

buickanddeere · Feb 21, 2016

Egon said:
Eighty percent of heat supplied by Solar Power in Alberta; is that considered a failure?

I suppose if you figure coal, gas and oil as latent solar energy.

buickanddeere · Feb 21, 2016

Egon said:
A Danish Island. The wind and solar seem to work for them.

Take away their subsidizes and let us know .
Show us a commercial wind or solar operation that is still in operation after the subsidized rate contract expired.

Egon · Feb 21, 2016

buickanddeere said:
Take away their subsidizes and let us know .
Show us a commercial wind or solar operation that is still in operation after the subsidized rate contract expired.

What kind of subsidies they be getting.

No way around it, solar and wind do work!

Egon · Feb 21, 2016

buickanddeere said:
I suppose if you figure coal, gas and oil as latent solar energy.

Nope, nothing in the waiting for the coal, oil & gas but they will make up the shortfall of twenty percent.

Just no way to get around it; solar and wind do work and have been for millennium. Just plain old physics you know.

buickanddeere · Feb 22, 2016

Egon said:
Nope, nothing in the waiting for the coal, oil & gas but they will make up the shortfall of twenty percent.

Just no way to get around it; solar and wind do work and have been for millennium. Just plain old physics you know.

Please tell us your satisfaction if you home was connected to only wind and solar and you paid 30cents per kwhr for backup from the utility ? No fossil gas appliances either . Electric fridge, freezer, stove, clothes dryer and furnace.
Odd how so many of these green electricity buildings rely primary on gas and wood.

Egon · Feb 22, 2016

Now you have me confused.

if you home was connected to only wind and solar

So I'm not conected to the grid. Where does the the utility come in?

What percentage of Alberta homes heat with gas?

P

tcartwri · Feb 22, 2016

buickanddeere said:
Take away their subsidizes and let us know .
Show us a commercial wind or solar operation that is still in operation after the subsidized rate contract expired.

Commercial solar voltaic contracts in Ontario are now signing at 11 cents / kwhr.

buickanddeere · Feb 23, 2016

tcartwri said:
Commercial solar voltaic contracts in Ontario are now signing at 11 cents / kwhr.

That is the current contract but nobody is signing up. The Ontario Governent does not want to have to subsidize more green power . The bulk of Ontario Solar is at 80.2cents . After the rate dropped below the 39.5 a year or two ago . The solar installation companies have folded due to lack of business .
http://microfit.powerauthority.on.ca/pdf/microFIT-Program-price-schedule.pdf

Egon · Feb 23, 2016

Information. Can't validate it.

Seems there has been a lot of money spent on updating infrastructure.

[video]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ontario-homeowners-to-reap-solar-benefits-in-5-years-association-says/article25371392/[/video]

[video]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/solar-power-surging-to-forefront-of-canadian-energy/article19786759/[/video]

tcartwri · Feb 23, 2016

buickanddeere said:
That is the current contract but nobody is signing up. The Ontario Governent does not want to have to subsidize more green power . The bulk of Ontario Solar is at 80.2cents . After the rate dropped below the 39.5 a year or two ago . The solar installation companies have folded due to lack of business .
http://microfit.powerauthority.on.ca/pdf/microFIT-Program-price-schedule.pdf

The 80c figure was only for small operators and it was only in place for a couple of years. I know this first hand.

The large industrial installations are being put in as fast as they are permitted... my next door neighbor is the business manager for one of them. They sign at 11c .

It is in fact one of the cheaper sources of hydro now.

buickanddeere · Feb 24, 2016

tcartwri said:
The 80c figure was only for small operators and it was only in place for a couple of years. I know this first hand.

The large industrial installations are being put in as fast as they are permitted... my next door neighbor is the business manager for one of them. They sign at 11c .

It is in fact one of the cheaper sources of hydro now.

The bulk of solar is 10Kw microfit which what you are referring to as small. The larger solar "farms" in Saulte Ste Marie, Sarnia and some drive shed roofs along highway 9 west of Teviodale .
Better check your numbers on the FIT. Rates.
There is also the time lag between the approved contract and when the system goes into service . Just because you see the system being built in 2016, the price was set in 2013-2014 or even earlier .
Better check your numbers on the subsidized price . And btw what are we supposed to do with the extra power that we paid a subsidized wholesale rate for. On nights , weekends and just about anytime spring and fall. When base load generation supplies the entire grid demand .
FIT Program Pricing | Feed-in Tariff Program - Independent Electricity System Operator