supported by
Join the Solar Revolution
Nitya C. Harris, P.Eng.
Executive Director
SolarBC
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
SolarBC Programs
Residential
Solar
Communities
First Nations
Local Government
Buildings
Social Housing
Solar Schools
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
SolarBC Program
Tonnes of CO2e/ year
GJ / Year saved
Residential
35%
Schools
14%
Local
Gov't
29%
Social
Housing
22%
Residential
20%
Schools
16%
Social
Housing
27%
Local Gov't
30%
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Developing Regulations
• Working with city
inspectors
• BC Building Code input
• Single wall/double wall
heat exchanger issues
• Solar Ready
Regulation
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Solar Ready Communities
* Village of Ashcroft
* City of Campbell River
* Cariboo Regional District
* City of Colwood
* Cowichan Valley Regional District
* City of Cranbrook
* City of Dawson Creek
* City of Duncan
* Township of Esquimalt
* City of Fernie
* City of Fort St. John
* District of Invermere
* Village of Kaslo
* Township of Langley
* District of Maple Ridge
* Village of Midway
* City of New Westminster
* Municipality of North Cowichan
* City of North Vancouver
* City of Port Coquitlam
* City of Richmond
* District of Sparwood
* Squamish Lillooet Regional District
* District of Tofino
* Town of View Royal
* Resort Municipality of Whistler
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Residential Project
• 539 installations
• Energy savings $4.2 million
• NRCan and FortisBC
funding for residential
systems
• Bulk buys in communities
• Zero interest loans
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Developing local jobs
• Development of installer
training
• Class room + installations
• Now 54 CanSIA certified
installers in province --most in
Canada
• 32 SolarBC Registered
installers
• Other companies now doing
solar commercial jobs
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Quality Assurance
• Mandatory requirements for
qualified installers
• Requirements for solar hot
water systems
• 88 - 3rd party random
inspections
• Metering of 24 systems
• Working with BC Hydro and
Terasen for monitoring
analysis
• Customer surveys and
installer rating on website
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Building Knowledge
• Training of inspectors
• Training of municipal
staff
• Training for engineers
• Community seminars
• 20 CanSIA seminars
held across B.C.
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Building Awareness
•
•
•
•
Marketing plan
One-stop-shop on website
72,000 visitors to website
E News and media
releases
• Grass roots community
approach
• Solar Days 2010
• Solar Champions
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Social Housing
Completed Projects:
• 15 installations
• 1 further
commitment
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Solar Hot Water for Schools
• School projects in
most regions across
B.C.
• 44 installed and 2
more underway
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Photovoltaics for Schools
• SolarBC provided
funds for 4 schools
to install
photovoltaic (PV)
panels.
• 11 more PV systems
(27.5kW) to be
installed in 2011
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Solar Lesson Plans
• Lesson plans
developed for PV
and solar hot water
• For kindergarden to
Grade 12
• Able to download
from SolarBC
website
• Teachers workshops
underway
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
PSECA
• Extra $s leveraged from
PSECA and Terasen
• $7million applications
Installations:
• 5 healthcare facilities
• 10 colleges and
universities
• Increased the number of
schools with shw
• 9 solar air systems on
schools
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Local Government
• 39 installations
• Pools, rec centres,
fire halls, municipal
buildings,
• Outreach done by
Community Energy
Association
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Developing Policy
• Changes to OCPs
• Development
guidelines
• Development Permit
Areas
• Renewable energy
requirement pilot
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Demonstration Solar Communities
• Increase awareness
• Remove barriers
• Develop by-laws
• Adopt targets
• Provide training
• Transfer learning
to other communities
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Solar Communities
Campbell River
Delta
Dawson Creek
Fort St. John
Grand Forks
Invermere
Kelowna
Nanaimo Reg. Dist
Dist of North Vancouver
Richmond
Saanich
Tofino
T’Sou-ke First Nation
Vancouver
Whistler
W. Moberly First Nation
Ashcroft
Alert Bay
Castlegar
Colwood
Cowichan Tribes
Duncan
Esquimalt
Kimberley
Ladysmith
Lawqueti
Midway
Peachland
Quesnel
Salt Spring Island
Sechelt
Surrey
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
SOLAR COMMUNITY
INITIATIVES
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
City of Vancouver
• Net-Zero Energy
Building pilot project
• Athletes’ Village, then
affordable housing
• Solar hot water system
• Energy consumption
monitoring
• Waste-heat capture &
reuse
• Above-LEED standards
in energy conservation.
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Meadow Creek Rec. Centre, Whistler
• Combined solar / geo-exchange
system
• Solar system designed to provide
1,000 GJ/year
• Solar used for pool & domestic
hot water
• Solar will save ~72 tonnes of
CO2 / year
• Geo-thermal saves much more
CO2
• Estimated simple payback of 3.4
years, because solar / geo
system replaces propane.
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Quesnel Rec. Centre
• At -25o C outside,
the panels were
delivering 150o F
water.
• Panels provide hot
water for sinks,
showers, etc.
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Fort St. John
• Amendments to DPA to encourage
passive solar design and renewable
energy generation
• OCP amended to include Alternative
Energy policies
• SHW and PV systems on City Hall
and solar air on public works shop
• $3000 incentive for shw and $500 for
solar ready
• Solar trash compactors, solar in bus
shelters, pedestrian signals
• Planning City Solar Mapping
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Campbell River
• Solar installations on 3 municipal buildings and one
school by 2011
• Solar hot water workshop and solar home tour
• Shows residents solar hot water
• Champion of the Renewable Energy Requirement
Regulation
• Community Energy and Emissions plan with solar roofs
target
• A Solar Ready Community
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Dawson Creek
•
•
•
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Solar hot water on most municipal
buildings
Championed the development of the
Solar Ready Regulation
Championed Local Improvement
Charges for solar
Partnering with Northern Lights
College, West Moberly First Nations
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Grand Forks Rec Centre
•
•
•
•
Pool heat and
domestic hot water
provided by shw and
air-to-water heat
recovery
RDKB installed the
system primarily to
save on energy
costs, not out of
environmental
concern
Saving $52,000
annually
ROI 15.2%; simple
payback 6.6 yrs
Source: Swiss Solar Tech
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
District of North Vancouver
• Solar hot water on
Northlands Golf
Course
• Has a solar potential
map for every roof in
the district --see:
www.geoweb.dnv.org
• Solar hot water on 5
municipal buildings
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Kelowna
• Goal: 120 solar
installations in the
Okanagan
• City of Kelowna Solar
Ready
• Steering Committee
includes the City, Terasen
Gas, Fortis BC and the
solar industry
• Outreach to orgs and
associations in the region
• Championed the
discussion of barriers to
solar
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tofino
Installations
CoxBay showers
Installers Course
Two demonstration
projects
Solar Seminar
Building Inspection Fees
reduction
Rebates
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
First Nations
• SolarBC provided seed
funding towards the
installation of SHW on
37 homes in the
T’Sou-ke First Nation
• 6 shw installation in the
Xeni-Gwetin First
Nation
• 2 in the West Moberley
First Nation
• Trainees in each
community
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
First Nations
• Mentorship program
underway
• First Nations teaching
other First Nations
• RFP, Project
Management, funds
procurement, selection
of contractor and
completion of project
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Lessons Learnt
• Need a financial program that is available for the long term --No
Start-Stops
• Local improvement charges
• Pay as you save
• On meter program--feed in tariff
• Need to bring utilities on board early
• Price Creep needs to be handled
• Regulations a good way for long-term success
• Need to build the infrastructure first
• Need to have a high level of awareness
• Need to have support of all stakeholders
• Work closely with all levels of government to remove barriers
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Lessons Learnt
• All aspects need to be developed in parallel
• financial, quality control, awareness, training, regulations,
demonstrations
• residential, commercial and institutional installations
• Quality control is essential
• Certified installers and high quality systems
• Build a strong base of qualified installers
• Community based awareness programs work well
• Get Solar Champions
• Solar Days builds energy in the initiative
• Look for the best chance of success -- where there is a lot of
hot water usage
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Lessons Learnt--Role of Cities
• Solar Communities a great way to build momentum and
initiative
• Municipalities need to work on policies, regulations and
development guidelines
• City regulatory officials can help to facilitate installations
• Training sessions for regulatory officials the key
• City demo projects help build awareness --be the role model
• Build local jobs in the renewable energy industry --add
regional economic benefits
• Important source of solar information for the local people
www.solarbc.ca
supported by
Thomas Edison
I’d put my money on the Sun
and Solar Energy,
what a source of Power!
I hope we don’t have to wait
until oil and coal run out,
before we tackle that.
www.solarbc.ca