Ontario Scores an “A” for Energy Conservation

Energy Efficiency Advocate Highlights McGuinty Government's Commitment

Ontario's commitment to energy conservation scores an "A" on the latest report card from a national non-profit group that promotes energy efficiency.     Ontario's grade on the 2007 report card from the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance - released today - is just the latest in a string of improved scores, reflecting the province's ongoing commitment to conservation as the cornerstone of a long-term energy plan.     The Alliance highlights Ontario's work on conservation so far, including the province's plan to save 6,300 megawatts of electricity by 2025. To date, Ontario has reached its first interim target: a 1,350 MW reduction in peak demand by the end of 2007, and is working toward another 1,350 MW reduction by 2010. "Solid grades," the report points out. "But even more encouraging is what is in the pipeline for the future - Ontario appears to be taking Energy Efficiency VERY seriously."
QUICK FACTS      -   Other energy saving initiatives of the McGuinty government include:         -  Banning inefficient light bulbs by 2012         -  Supporting homeowners with the $112 million Ontario Home Energy            Audit and Retrofit programs which cover half the cost of an energy            audit (up to $150) and provide access to up to $10,000 in combined            provincial and federal grants         -  Helping the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors adopt            a clean, renewable option through the $14.4 million Ontario Solar            Thermal Heating Incentive (OSTHI)         -  Extending point-of-sale retail sales tax exemption for            ENERGY STAR(R) products (e.g., light bulbs, refrigerators, and            dishwashers)         -  Installing smart meters across the province by the end of 2010.         -  Supporting Ontario Power Authority programs, such as the Great            Refrigerator Round Up, peaksaver, Cool Savings Rebate and Every            Kilowatt Counts Summer Sweepstakes programs

(via. CNW Group)

A ray of sunshine for solar energy

A new solar-cell system could one day make power from the sun as cheap as electricity from fossil fuels.

TYLER HAMILTON | ENERGY REPORTER

Nov 10, 2008 04:30 AM

RICK EGLINTON/TORONTO STAR

Morgan Solar founder Jean Paul Morgan, left, with his brother Nicolas, developed a lower-cost solar panel to bring cheap electricity to developing nations. (Nov. 4, 2008)

John Paul Morgan was a cutting-edge engineer at JDS Uniphase Corp., back when the optical telecom giant was a market titan and solar power was still perceived by many as a backwoods technology for off-grid tree huggers.

Seven years later, the high-tech whiz kid has become a solar hotshot. Morgan has developed a new type of solar panel that, like many other systems on the market, concentrates the sun's rays on to high-efficiency solar cells. The big difference is the simplicity of his design and the lower-cost materials used to build it could soon make power from the sun as affordable as electricity from fossil fuels.

All he has to do now is prove it. "We have to show this technology is bankable," he says.

Morgan's path from telecom to solar panels wasn't a straight line. A graduate of engineering science from the University of Toronto, he joined JDS in 2001 while in his mid-20s. Within three days at JDS he impressed higher-ups with his first invention and within three months broke the company record for most inventions in a year.

But the telecom market crashed and Morgan grew bored. As his older brother, Nicolas Morgan, explains, "developing products to make the Internet faster didn't inspire him." He quit JDS in 2003, and travelled a year through South America, Australia and Asia before heading back to UofT to get his graduate degree in electrical and biomedical engineering.

Read the entire story here.

(via. Toronto Star)

Solar Energy becomes a reality for Toronto area consumers

Corporate News: Xantrex Technology

Retail launch of solar energy solutions available from major retailer

VANCOUVER, B.C., September 5, 2007

Xantrex Technology Inc. (TSX:XTX) today announced its participation as the exclusive supplier of solar inverter technology to installers of solar energy grid-tie systems purchased at Home Depot Canada. The program will provide Greater Toronto homeowners with convenient access to industry-leading renewable energy products and services. 

Xantrex GT Series Grid Tie Solar Inverters are a key component in a photovoltaic (PV) installation package available to Home Depot customers, with installation and service provided by Solera Sustainable Energies Company®, of Ontario.

Homeowners that purchase a Home Depot system can participate in the recently implemented Ontario Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP) - a renewable energy initiative launched last year by the Ontario Power Authority. The program provides homeowners with a financial incentive to install residential solar energy systems.

Under the Home Depot program, homeowners can purchase a PV system from select Home Depot stores. A consultant will visit the home and provide a full assessment with the home owner to determine the requirements for a solar system, including solar panels and a Xantrex inverter. The Xantrex inverter converts DC energy generated by the solar panels into clean, useable AC power, which is sold back to the utility electrical grid at a price nearly four times higher than the homeowner pays the utility for the electricity used in their home.

“Homeowners throughout the Greater Toronto Area now have the option to install a grid-tie solar energy system through Home Depot Canada, a familiar and dependable retailer,” said Leonard Allen, President and CEO, Solera Sustainable Energies Company®. “With the additional incentive of the Ontario Standard Offer Program, high-quality components such as Xantrex GT Series Grid Tie Solar Inverters, and installation provided by Solera, we hope to accelerate consumer adoption and drive awareness of solar energy systems as part of our responsibility as a community business.”
“This market breakthrough represents a milestone for the Canadian renewable energy market and for our company,” said Xantrex CEO, John Wallace. “Our unique position as the exclusive inverter supplier for Home Depot installation partners ensures that consumers will receive the highest quality and most efficient solar inverters currently available on the market.”

The province of Ontario recently enacted the RESOP feed-in tariff system, to help enable the reduction of global warming through support of alternative energy solutions and ultimately offset electrical grid usage.  This system will allow homeowners to receive payment for the electricity that they produce which is fed back into the utility grid. Residential solar PV systems will be eligible for a feed-in tariff rate of CAD $0.42 or approximately USD $.40 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity.
The first of its kind in Canada, the program makes Ontario’s support of solar power installations one of the highest in North America. Projects that comply with the Standard Offer Program may also qualify for a variety of federal and provincial incentive programs and grants under Renewable Energy Development in Ontario (REDO).

(Via. Xantrex)