Comments on: Solar shines, but not bright enough in Canada http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/ Trends, happenings and innovations in the clean technology market Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:28:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/comment-page-1/#comment-1614 Anonymous Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:35:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/#comment-1614 It seems to me that 42cents is generous if you could actually get it. If you drop 10g on panels you would probably sell little back to the grid unless you killed the breaker on your house. It seems to me that 42cents is generous if you could actually get it. If you drop 10g on panels you would probably sell little back to the grid unless you killed the breaker on your house.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/comment-page-1/#comment-1613 Anonymous Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:03:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/#comment-1613 42cents/kwh sounds generous to me. Canadians are complaining about that? I agree with one thing Jon said: Rebates (if they are immediate) make a big impact on retail (individual home) buy/don't buy decisions as they reduce the upfront cost. The feed-in-tariff should provide better support for business/commercial installation which one typically assumes are loan financed. I understand this is not completely rational/intuitive, but I bet if you offered both, that is what you would see (and I'm sure there are exceptions--there always are). $ for $ rebates will encourage more personal installations and feed ins will encourage more business installs. You are 100% right that Canada can steal a big march on the US by investing in solar thermal. It defies logic that so much more money goes into solar PV given that solar thermal is 3-4 times as efficient as PV and corresponding less expensive. In fact I believe that solar thermal is already competative (or could be in anyone gained the requisite scale) with fossil fuel sources. So even a small subsidy could shoot this technology into the mainstream. 42cents/kwh sounds generous to me. Canadians are complaining about that?

I agree with one thing Jon said: Rebates (if they are immediate) make a big impact on retail (individual home) buy/don’t buy decisions as they reduce the upfront cost.

The feed-in-tariff should provide better support for business/commercial installation which one typically assumes are loan financed.

I understand this is not completely rational/intuitive, but I bet if you offered both, that is what you would see (and I’m sure there are exceptions–there always are).

$ for $ rebates will encourage more personal installations and feed ins will encourage more business installs.

You are 100% right that Canada can steal a big march on the US by investing in solar thermal. It defies logic that so much more money goes into solar PV given that solar thermal is 3-4 times as efficient as PV and corresponding less expensive. In fact I believe that solar thermal is already competative (or could be in anyone gained the requisite scale) with fossil fuel sources. So even a small subsidy could shoot this technology into the mainstream.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/comment-page-1/#comment-1612 Anonymous Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:39:00 +0000 http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2007/11/22/solar-shines-but-not-bright-enough-in-canada/#comment-1612 I am still with the camp that believes that the Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ART's) that Ontario is handing out (but not without red tape and a fight) is too little, too late and half-measure to say the very least. To say the most, its backwards, does nothing and was never designed to be successful in the first place. Being someone who is quite interested in solar development, I see where tariff's work and where they don't. In out case they just don't make any sense as the upfront costs are still way too high to encourage even the moderately interested and semi-well funded developer, let alone an individual home owner. And without the up-front rebate (like what many states have) the ART's mean little or nothing as its still VERY expensive to install a system. The only way ART's work for home owners (end-of-pipe.. and where it matters the most!) is in areas where there is already a rebate system in place. There are a number of reasons for this... but the biggest one is that most people don't care about generating money. They simply want to 'zero out' and be sustainable. If they are able to bank energy from overproduction in the summer and cash it in for the darker winters, this is a bonus! I know of a number of solar advocates with grid-tied systems here in Ontatio that flat-out refuse to sign on to the Ontario ART program - and I can't blame them one bit. It does nothing for them except require them to pay connection fees.. and possible tax on the power they send out (has this been rectified?) only to be taxed again when they draw it back. I would actually not mind seeing ART's vanish completely, so long as it were replaced by a rebate (dollar per watt) system such as the ones in many of the US states. Those are the numbers that matter to the average Joe. Especially when you consider that *most* systems are created to minimize waste energy created as to save on costs in the first place. A perfect system would't produce any net energy, and wouldnt consume any energy from the grid (of course, because of seasonal changes this never happens). In short - Man would I love to have the $/watt rebate that California has! I would have a system on the roof by now :) Forget the PST rebate on solar.. thats just nickels and dimes. To take it further, it would be GREAT if the rebate could be applied not only to those doing grid-tied installs, but to those buying solar panels in general. Cottage users, off-grid homes... It's all a draw on out grid if its plugged in. And why not include solar thermal, geothermal and more? Makes sense.... So are ART's mainly a stall tactic to doing something real... and to give people the illusion that the govt. is actually being proactive? What is your opinion on this Tyler? I am still with the camp that believes that the Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ART’s) that Ontario is handing out (but not without red tape and a fight) is too little, too late and half-measure to say the very least. To say the most, its backwards, does nothing and was never designed to be successful in the first place.
Being someone who is quite interested in solar development, I see where tariff’s work and where they don’t. In out case they just don’t make any sense as the upfront costs are still way too high to encourage even the moderately interested and semi-well funded developer, let alone an individual home owner. And without the up-front rebate (like what many states have) the ART’s mean little or nothing as its still VERY expensive to install a system.
The only way ART’s work for home owners (end-of-pipe.. and where it matters the most!) is in areas where there is already a rebate system in place. There are a number of reasons for this… but the biggest one is that most people don’t care about generating money. They simply want to ‘zero out’ and be sustainable. If they are able to bank energy from overproduction in the summer and cash it in for the darker winters, this is a bonus! I know of a number of solar advocates with grid-tied systems here in Ontatio that flat-out refuse to sign on to the Ontario ART program – and I can’t blame them one bit. It does nothing for them except require them to pay connection fees.. and possible tax on the power they send out (has this been rectified?) only to be taxed again when they draw it back.
I would actually not mind seeing ART’s vanish completely, so long as it were replaced by a rebate (dollar per watt) system such as the ones in many of the US states. Those are the numbers that matter to the average Joe. Especially when you consider that *most* systems are created to minimize waste energy created as to save on costs in the first place. A perfect system would’t produce any net energy, and wouldnt consume any energy from the grid (of course, because of seasonal changes this never happens).
In short – Man would I love to have the $/watt rebate that California has! I would have a system on the roof by now :) Forget the PST rebate on solar.. thats just nickels and dimes.
To take it further, it would be GREAT if the rebate could be applied not only to those doing grid-tied installs, but to those buying solar panels in general. Cottage users, off-grid homes… It’s all a draw on out grid if its plugged in. And why not include solar thermal, geothermal and more? Makes sense….
So are ART’s mainly a stall tactic to doing something real… and to give people the illusion that the govt. is actually being proactive?
What is your opinion on this Tyler?

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