Resource World Magazine

A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 2 0 www.resourceworld.com 67 teer-based, charity that supports the sustainable production, distribution, and consumption of energy in British Columbia and beyond. Jim Jacobsen, BC Sales Manager for Empower Energy, also a director of BCSEA, told Resource World that there are a variety of funding sources for solar projects, some of which can be used in combination: • Community initiatives such as a co-operative model or a bulk buy program where the costs are shared • Regular business loans from banks (The technology is proven, for larger projects (over 100 kW) the company will need a long term firm power purchase agreement from a utility like BC Hydro, FortisBC or one of the municipal utilities like the City of New Westminster.) • Provincial and federal partnerships • Accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) for investments in clean energy generation Regional grants or low interest loans such as Columbia Basin Trust "Some projects could be self-funding where the firm putting in the system puts up the money and recoups their cost over time from the electricity sales," said Jacobsen. "After a period of, say, 15 or 20 years, the asset belongs to the property owner and they get the future income." McArthur added that, in the case of self-funding large scale solar developments, there are several possible models. "Firms actually may look to lease the land in addition to selling the power at a guaranteed rate for the length of the contract," he said. "The power can be sold back to the utility, to a local government or as a community solar project where individuals can buy a percentage of the power (they purchase x number of solar modules) to offset their consumption. In the same way the panels could be shared via virtual net metering where third party commercial sites could buy green energy." "While there are regulatory challenges, there is a possibility for large commercial businesses to enter into a power purchasing agreement with the utility to produce their own power with solar energy," said Jacobsen. "Currently under BC Hydro, there is a restriction to no more than 100 kW of solar. For large consumers of energy this is not nearly large enough to make a significant impact. Consider demand charges where commercial customers pay very expensive rates when they exceed a consumption amount." He added that there is an exciting possibility for Indigenous communities to take control of their own energy requirements and develop community solar farms to generate their own power in their communities and potentially sell the surplus power back to the utility. Empower Energy has built a number of solar projects, ranging from 7.6 kW residential installations to 200 kW commercial solar farms – in total over 1,300,000 watts. There are other successful solar farms in southeast BC such as the Nelson Community Solar Garden which is unique in that the project is a centralized solar array where members of the commu - nity have invested in the solar energy project on a per panel basis. Thus, the electricity generated is credited to the subscriber's elec- tric bills in proportion to their investment for 25 years. The Solar Garden was developed through Nelson Hydro's EcoSave Energy Retrofits Program. With 248 solar modules, the project generates approximately 60 kW. Solar panels have also been installed on the roofs of the Balfour Seniors' Centre, the Balfour Community Hall and the Balfour Golf Course clubhouse. After the solar energy heats and powers the buildings, reducing utility bills in the process, any excess power is sold to Nelson Hydro. Successfully operating solar farms in the Kootenays of south - eastern BC are not the only BC locales seeing solar projects being developed. Just to the west, numerous solar projects have been built in the sunny Okanagan region of south-central BC and other suitable provincial locations. Economically viable and good for the planet – what's not to love? n 103-4401 Bristol Rd., Terrace BC | (250) 635-2659 | www.yxt.ca C A P A C I T Y • C O N N E C T I O N S • R E L I A B I L I T Y • S A F E T Y Capacity Executive board room,full service restaurant and vehicle rentals (National, Hertz, Budget & Driving Force) Connections Connections to Vancouver, Calgary, Prince George, Bob Quinn and Dease Lake with unrestricted aircraft accommodation including 757, 737 and 767 Reliability A state of the art instrument landing system upgraded in 2015 allowing for 99.7% reliability of scheduled fl ight completion Safety Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Meziadin Junction 2 hrs 30 mins Port Edward 1 hr 30 mins Kitimat 35 mins Terrace 15 mins JUST A SHORT DRIVE AWAY GET CONNECTED THROUGH THE NORTHWEST REGIONAL AIRPORT 604.581.2827 www.thornleycreative.com 170057_Ad-Minerals Exp. Magazine- Sping 2017 Date: Feb 7, 2017 Trim: 7 7/8"x10 7/8" Bleed: 0.125" Print at: 100% Colour: CMYK FINAL-RVSD GREEN TECHNOLOGIES

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