Some Sunny Tidbits…
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One square meter of south facing window will produce
as much power as an electric baseboard heater.
10% of the space heating needs of the average
Canadian home is already supplied by solar energy
Regina receives more solar energy year-round than
Rome
The 1st solar heaters in Canada were installed in the
1890s
The solar energy falling on 15 km2 of land in southern
Alberta equals the entire power capacity of all the
nuclear power plants in Canada
Solar energy is now a $15 billion industry worldwide
Solar will be providing 10% of Germany’s peak power
requirements by 2015 (no more coal!)
Turning Ontario’s Roofs into Green
Generators
Rob McMonagle – Toronto Atmospheric Fund April 30, 2010
A Roadmap to the next 90 minutes
1.
2.
Some solar myths
Solar technologies
- as different as night and day
3.
4.
5.
Toronto and solar
A little more on photovoltaics
Having a FIT over GEGEA
- no its not about having a fit
over Lady Gaga
6.
Installing solar on roofs
- challenges and opportunities
Myth #1: Canada does not
have enough sunlight
Canada’s Solar Resource is
One of the Best in
Industrialized Nations
Toronto Beats out Miami
in the Summer
Myth #2: Solar is an
expensive energy source
Solar is the Cheapest Energy
Source for the Consumer
Sales are Growing –
Prices are Dropping
PV & Electricity Pricing
Crossover in Ontario
$0.40
Price crossover
2012 - 2018
$0.30
$0.20
$0.10
Price of Electricity (2% increase - CPI rate)
Price of Electricity (5% increase)
Price of PV (3% decrease)
Price of PV (5% decrease 10 year historical)
20
28
20
26
20
24
20
22
20
20
20
18
20
16
20
14
20
12
20
10
20
08
$0.00
20
06
$/kWh (Peak Time)
$0.50
Daily Power Peak and
Solar Energy
Solar Radiation
0
1:00
The price of electricity at peak capacity can be > $0.42 per kWh
Solar Technologies
One energy source but three
distinct technologies
Solar Technologies
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Passive solar – natural energy
flow into a building
Solar Thermal – generation of
heat
Photovoltaics – direct creation of
electricity
Solar Has Public Support
GPC Research – Public Opinion Poll – Oct 05
Global Renewable Energy
Global Installed Capacity (2001)
Wind
Historic
Growth
23,000
Solar Thermal
30%
20%
69,320
Photovoltaic
40%
1,100
-
20,000
40,000
MW
60,000
80,000
Solar Thermal Installed
Capacity
(2001) (Source: IEA)
140
16th out of 26 reporting nations
Sales are 23% of the international average
Watts per capita
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
C
H
E
AU
S
N
O
R
N
JP
U
SA
D
N
K
D
EU
E
W
S
C
H
I
PR
T
N
LD
C
AN
N
ZL
N
FI
ES
P
Note: Israel (457), Austria (205) & Greece (190) not shown
Solar Commercial Water
Heating
•
Only support by the Canada government for
solar is for solar thermal commercial &
industrial applications (but growing into the
residential…)
Solar Domestic Hot Water
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Can provide 45% of hot
water needs in Toronto
Typical cost is $4,000-$5,000
for average house
Currently 200-300 systems
installed per year in Canada –
mainly as retrofits
Residential is the largest
market for solar – but ignored
in Canada until recently
Huge opportunities for growth
in this sector
Other Solar Water
Heating Applications
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Combi Systems
– Radiant floor heating
– Combining with other heat
sources (earth energy –
recharging during the summer)
Building Integrated
– Displaces cost of building
structure in new buildings
– Cost of solar collectors
comparable to high cost curtain
walls
Solar Air Heating
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Canada is a world leader in this technology
Commercial and industrial applications use a
tremendous amount of “make up air”
If integrated into the design of a new building there
is no additional cost
World’s Largest
Solar Collector –
Bombardier’s
Canadair Assembly
Plant – Ville StLaurent, QC
Solar Pool Heating
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Average pool takes more energy to heat in the
summer than it takes to heat the home in the winter

Average pool costs $3,000
to “solarize”
 Average savings =
$1,000 per year

600,000 swimming pools
in Canada
PV Installed Capacity
Canada:
- 14th of 20 reporting nations
- Only 28% of the IEA average (0.28 v.s. 1.0
watts/capita)
International growth was 36% in 2003
- Canada growth rate is 20%
4
Watts per capita
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
N
JP
D
U
E
U
A
S
N
R
O
N
LD
U
A
T
U
A
S
N
FI
IT
A
E
W
S
C
N
A
D
K
N
FR
A
Off Grid PV
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Remote Homes
– 50,000 remote cabins
& cottages powered by
solar Canada

Remote Power
Farmers – livestock,
water pumping
Canadian Coast Guard was
a world leader in using PV
PV on the Grid
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This market is only
beginning in Canada
– 100 home systems
installed per year
Biggest market and the
greatest potential
More on this later
Toronto’s Interest in
Solar energy
Toronto is investing in its
Renewable Energy Future
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Solar on municipal buildings
– 28 systems installed so far
PV
 Solar Hot Water
 Solar Pool Heating
 Solar Air Heating
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Plus other renewable technologies
– Geo-energy & Deep Lake Water Cooling
– Wind generators (ground mount and on
buildings)
Solar Air Heating
Photovoltaics
Solar Pool Heating
Solar Hot Water
Toronto Solar Neighbourhoods
Pilot– the Highest Density of SDHW
Systems in Canada
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Pilot in 1 ward
– Toronto has 44
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100 SDHW systems sold
– 1 in every 150 homes
(100/15,000)
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If we did this in all of
Toronto
– 4,400 systems sales
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National Average Sales in
Canada – 400 – 1,000
per year
Photovoltaics – Solar
Electricity
The only true electrical generator …
[moving us out of the steam engine era]
International Deployment
of PV
78 %
On
grid
Source: IEA (www.iea-pvps.org)
Photovoltaics (or PV)

Photovoltaics can be installed:
– As part of the building
– On the ground
– On the roof
Building Integrated
Solar PV
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Reduces cost by 50 – 100%
Eliminates other building
materials
The building becomes the
power supply
PV can be comparable in
price to high-end glazing and
curtain wall materials
Result – modern design, a
green statement, and energy
savings
Opportunities Galore!
Solar can
be added
in different
parts of
the
building
shell
Curtain Walls
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Modules are
frameless which
make them easy to
fit into conventional
building encasement
systems
Overhead Glazing
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Architectural elements
can be made functional
with the addition of PV
glazing
Skylights made from
solar modules manage
light and reduce
energy bills
<>
Façade Glazing
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Thin Film PV technology is
available with varying
degrees of translucence –
from opaque to transparent
– Applied as the front piece
of a glazing system
– So you can see out of
them and they produce
electricity!
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Crystalline Silicon can be
laminated between glazing
material to form unique
patterns
Building Components
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Building Components:
– awnings
– balcony railings
Cost of Façade Products
vs. PV
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Cost of PV is comparable to cost of building facades
Cost of other solar technologies is considerable less
($/m2 & $/kWt)
Solar Farms and Solar Parks
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Challenges with large ground mounted PV
– Cost of land
– NIMBYism – does it take away farm land?
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But why aren’t we complaining about urban sprawl?
Its takes away the
primary advantage of
PV
– Distributed generation
– Close to demand –
which eliminates
infrastructure costs
However the majority of
sales will be on roofs
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Expereince in Europe is it’s all on the roof (89%)
The Green Energy and
Green Economy (GEGE)
Act and Feed-in Tariffs
(FiTs)
Shedding a little light on the situation …
Electricity - We’re Heading
for the Perfect Storm
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Aging Fleet of Generators
– Replacement should have started a decade ago
– Most Power Stations take 5-15 years to construct
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Aging Distribution System
– Replacement should have started a decade ago
– Costs are huge (but not talked about)
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Energy Demand is Increasing
– Air conditioning, increased usage, growing population
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Growing Demand for Natural Gas
– Beginning to use NG for thermal and electricity
– Our economy is driven by NG
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And let’s not forget about climate change
Climate Change will Increase the
Number of Hot Days in Toronto
1. A Scan of Climate Change Impacts on Toronto – Clean Air Partnership
Electrical Peaks will Increase

Electricity Demand vs Daily Temperature
Electricity demand decreases as air temperature rises until the point at which
air conditioners kick it
Source: Liu 2003 – 1994-2000 Toronto data
Air Conditioners in Ontario
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Ontario has the greatest # of central A/C
While more efficient than window units they consume more energy (whole
house vs. single room)
Households with Air Conditioning in Canada & NE USA
(pe r 10 0 house holds)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Atlantic
Quebec
Ontario
Total
Prairies
Central A/C
British
Columbia
Mid-Atlantic
Window - or w all-mounted A/C
New
England
Ontario’s Electrical Demand
Peaks in the Summer
source: Ontario IESO
PV’s Generation is In Line with
Ontario’s Energy Needs
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The greater the demand the greater the solar
resource
Percentage of
Peak Demand
Power Demand
PV’s Capacity
Factor
98%
>24,906 MW
64.3%
95%
>24,143 MW
58.6%
90%
>22,873 MW
51.9%
All hours
21.9%
It’s About Building a New
Economy

New technologies create new opportunities
– Britain resisted the trend to electrical power in the 1890s –
was one of the last industrialized nations to switch to
electrical street lights
– Japan invested in solar to support their troubled electronics
industries in the 1990s
– Germany invested in solar to provide jobs in East Germany
after reunification
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Globally solar is now a $15 billion CDN market and
growing 35% annually
– Germany and Japan are the major exporters and have over
50% of the market share
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In 2025 do we still want to be using the modern
equivalent of coal gas street lighting when every
other nation has moved on?
It’s About Jobs
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A locally manufactured energy source
– Solar Manufacturing is already being done in Ontario
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Highest Job Potential of any energy source
– Per 1,000 GWh
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Nuclear Power – 72 jobs
– Recent OPG advertisement: “It costs us over $1million to train
each of our nuclear technicians” – and they’re proud of this?
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Solar Thermal – 3,960 jobs
Job market is local and spread across Canada – relating to
engineering, sales, installation, and manufacturing
– Potential job market is huge
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Germany – 50,000 workers – fastest growing job market in
any industry sector in Germany
Europe – estimated 350,000 full-time jobs by 2030
The Feed-in Tariff
Program
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What is it?
– Allows anyone to generate electricity from
renewable energy sources and sell it into
the grid.
– You sign a contract with the Ontario
Power Authority (OPA) for 20 years
– For PV, the rates are dependent on the
system size
FiT Rates for PV
Size
Rate ($/kWh)
<10 kW
$0.802
10 – 250 kW
$0.713
250 – 500 kW
$0.635
>500 kW
$0.539
< 10 MW ground mount
$0.443
How much money will
you make?

While the rate ($/kWh) is set the energy output will vary
dependent on a number of conditions
– Amount of solar radiation (kWh/m2/year of sunshine)
– Efficiency of power conditioning equipment and line losses

Note efficiency of PV modules has no impact on output – just on size of
array
– Orientation of the solar modules
– Shading
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Unique attribute of PV is that even partial shade will drop output to
0!
Note: Ontario has no solar access legislation – will the
project be shaded by new development in the next 20
years?
Toronto’s experience with
PV performance
Project
Array
Size
Angle
Direction
Output
(kWh/kW)
Solar Radiation
1558
PV Potential (75%)
1161
Horse Palace
#1
46
10
20oE
930
#2
46
20
20oE
981
#3
5
0
20oE
976
#4
5
20
20oE
1051
Fire Hall 334
3
25
15oE
1268
Fire Hall 424
1
40
10oW
972
Potential Income for PV
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Payback will be
dependent on cost
of PV system
– Great unknown

Toronto experience
- $7,000 - $10,000
kW installed
– For medium roof
top systems (10-250
kW) = 10 years
Size
Rate
($/kWh)
$/kW of
PV
<10 kW
$0.802
$802
10 – 250
kW
$0.713
$713
250 – 500
kW
$0.635
$635
>500 kW
$0.539
$539
< 10 MW
ground
mount
$0.443
$443
Installing Solar on Roofs
The solution is right over our
heads…
PV on Roofs

Will be three configurations
– Ballasted – floating
– Connection to structural elements
– Roofing material
Ballasted Mounts
Connection to a Structure
Roof Material

Roofing material and
integrated into roofing
membranes
Integrating solar with
green roofs
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High political interest in green roofs
Solar and green roofs are a good
“mix”
Solar can shade the plants
Green roof can provide the ballast
Solar Green Roof
Challenge: Just how heavy is
that solar system on my roof?

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Could this be an actual concern?
Items (including solar collectors) on a building roof
need to comply with the Ontario Building Code
Solar on Sloped Roofs
Solar on Flat Roofs
What Types of Solar on
Roofs are Problems? PV?
What Types of Solar on
Roofs are Problems? PV?
The “Toronto Solution”
for residential solar
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City of Toronto’s Building Department has
developed a simple 3-step methodology to
determine if the roof conditions can
withstand the structural loading of the
renewable energy projects for rafter roofs
Step 1: Product Span Table
– As part of the structural drawing a span table is
developed showing the types of roof conditions
that the product can be installed on
Step 1: Structural Drawing
with Span Table
Toronto
Solution Step 2

Roof inspection
report is done
showing the
conditions of the
roof at site of
proposed solar
installation
Step 3: Verify that roof conditions
are greater than product span table
If the roof is composed of 2x8 rafters on 16” spacings then this solar
collector can be installed on a maximum rafter span of 3.18 m with no
structural alterations
A cautionary tale for the
past
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The market for solar PV in Ontario is high
right now
PV module prices worldwide are low (due to
recession)
FiT rates right now are lucrative (but there
is a lot of hype on installed prices and
performance)
Proceed with caution – experience in the
1980s…
Solar Hot Water Sales in
Canada (1970-2003)
35,000
30,000
Collector Area (m 2)
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
Solar Water Heating in
Canada and Austria
200,000
180,000
160,000
Austria
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
Canada
20
03
20
01
19
99
19
97
19
95
19
93
19
91
19
89
19
87
19
85
19
83
19
81
19
79
19
77
0
19
75
Collector Area (m 2)
140,000
Austria – with ¼ the population, a
smaller solar resource and similar
energy costs has 150 Xs the annual
sales.
City of Toronto
Contacts
Rob McMonagle
SolarCity Program Manager
Toronto Atmospheric Fund
416-393-6371
rmcmonagle@tafund.org
Solar Neighbourhoods
Information Line
416-393-6370
www.solarneighbourhoods.ca
Solar Permits
www.SolarPermits.ca