777 replies to this topic

[LJ]

Solar is useful, but when the take up rate gets above a certain point Hydro will raise costs for you to connect to the grid etc. It will be like CRD water, you're not using enough we have to raise rates. But with Hydro it wont be the cost of power it will be all taxes, fees etc.

[LeoVictoria]

Solar is useful, but when the take up rate gets above a certain point Hydro will raise costs for you to connect to the grid etc. It will be like CRD water, you're not using enough we have to raise rates. But with Hydro it wont be the cost of power it will be all taxes, fees etc.

Guess it depends on whether it helps them or not. At a certain point they might conclude that it is cheaper for them to encourage solar than to build another Site C.
There is some benefit to having a crown Corp for power. In regions with private power companies the utilities are actively fighting solar just as you describe

[Tom Braybrook]

...661 days after install...breaks the 10MWh mark today...

 

 

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[todd]

I just turned on the AC.   (but nowadays cnn is just hot air)

[Mike K.]

Councillor Isitt has added to this week's Committee of the Whole Agenda a motion to install solar panels atop the roof of Fernwood's community centre on Gladstone, or another municipally-owned building if the Gladstone building isn't a good candidate for solar panels.

 

He also hopes this will allow for residents to participate in a wholesale purchase of panels to reduce everyone's buy-in cost. There is no mention of any anticipated costs, but Isitt refers to the panels as a cost recovery opportunity.

 

The Fernwood Community Centre has provided some costs and anticipated results of a solar installation.

 

"The more neighbours join in, the better pricing available when buying panels and equipment and the larger the rate of return. An average home installation could be a 7.4 kW system with 24 solar panels that will cost $17,000 and produce over 200 MWh of electricity over its lifetime. This will save about $1000 on your electricity bill the first year, and even more as hydro rates go up. Factoring in expected rate increases, the system should be paid off in about 13 years—but the sun won’t stop shining after that, and you will still be producing clean electricity." - https://fernwoodnrg....panel-bulk-buy/

[Victoria Watcher]

no the sun won’t stop shining but at some point you will need to replace equipment. and it’ll always require some level of servicing. that’s why private companies don’t generally buy these systems. they are not cost efficient yet.

[Mike K.]

tommy generated 10MWh with 14 panels over 22 months, based on the data above.

[Victoria Watcher]

well a lot depends on the size of the panel.

[Tom Braybrook]

tommy generated 10MWh with 14 panels over 22 months, based on the data above.

my system is rated at 4.55 kWh at averages 500 kWh.month , if the install is rated at 7.4 kWh they stand to generate  a little less than 10 MWh annually - so over 20-25 years it is between 200 and 250 MWh

[Mike K.]

Interesting. So it seems like a bit of a wash, does it not? Spend $17k for the job (plus overruns, which are likely) only to have the system require major work or replacement once it’s paid off.

[DustMagnet]

Also, those ever-rising hydro rates will need to be paid when the sun goes down unless that $17k includes a storage option.

[Victoria Watcher]

Also, those ever-rising hydro rates will need to be paid when the sun goes down unless that $17k includes a storage option.

 

well you get "net-metered".  no?  

[DustMagnet]

well you get "net-metered".  no?  

 

Is that the scheme where you get less and less credit over time for feeding power back into the grid as the supply increases (more people feed into the system)?

 

Like everything else an equilibrium will be reached.

 

Alternative anything should never be pursued as a means to save money - even if it does it will be for a brief moment in history.

[Victoria Watcher]

yup.

 

details:

 

https://www.bchydro....=rd_netmetering

 

 

 

By the numbers

• Since 2004, over 1,330 customers have been participating in our net metering program.
• Over 95% of customers chose to install a solar photovoltaic system.
• A typical home generally consumes 11,000 kWh/year. A typical solar installation on a residential roof is 4 kilowatt (kW) in size with 16 solar panels, which in B.C., generates 4,400 kWh of electricity over a year.
• On average, solar systems of this size can cost about $14,500. Based on BC Hydro's step 2 of its Residential Conservation Rate, payback on your investment is about 23 years (including savings from the Rate Rider and GST).

 

 

now at 3% interest that $14,500 is $28,883 after 23 years. except you spent it on a solar system.  panels that are not expected to last more than 25 years. that add complications to your roof and re-roofing.  that need maintenance and care.  like i said earlier the plan is a bad one financially.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 June 2019 - 06:01 PM.

[rjag]

Finances aren’t exactly Bens strong point he cherry picks his data to push his agenda. If solar was such a great ROI then we’d see all sorts of entrepreneurs pushing it and the banks jumping on board to finance it.

[Mike K.]

Agreed. We’d see it everywhere.

[LJ]

Councillor Isitt has added to this week's Committee of the Whole Agenda a motion to install solar panels atop the roof of Fernwood's community centre on Gladstone, or another municipally-owned building if the Gladstone building isn't a good candidate for solar panels.

 

He also hopes this will allow for residents to participate in a wholesale purchase of panels to reduce everyone's buy-in cost. There is no mention of any anticipated costs, but Isitt refers to the panels as a cost recovery opportunity.

 

The Fernwood Community Centre has provided some costs and anticipated results of a solar installation.

 

"The more neighbours join in, the better pricing available when buying panels and equipment and the larger the rate of return. An average home installation could be a 7.4 kW system with 24 solar panels that will cost $17,000 and produce over 200 MWh of electricity over its lifetime. This will save about $1000 on your electricity bill the first year, and even more as hydro rates go up. Factoring in expected rate increases, the system should be paid off in about 13 years—but the sun won’t stop shining after that, and you will still be producing clean electricity." - https://fernwoodnrg....panel-bulk-buy/

But, but, they want me to use electricity instead of gas, so they will be lowering hydro rates to encourage me to convert, won't they?

[LJ]

Is that the scheme where you get less and less credit over time for feeding power back into the grid as the supply increases (more people feed into the system)?

 

Like everything else an equilibrium will be reached.

 

Alternative anything should never be pursued as a means to save money - even if it does it will be for a brief moment in history.

And your costs to connect to the grid will go ever higher.

[DustMagnet]

But, but, they want me to use electricity instead of gas, so they will be lowering hydro rates to encourage me to convert, won't they?

 

Hell, one of the reasons we connected gas to the house a few years ago was to try to stay out of Tier 2 hydro.

[Victoria Watcher]

    Solar project approved for southern Alberta would be Canada's largest, by far

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Greengate Power says array of 1.5 million panels will provide enough energy to power 100,000 homes

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ngate-1.5261539

 

 

 

 

He says the project in Vulcan County will include 1.5 million solar panels that will provide enough energy — 400 megawatts — to power 100,000 homes. 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 August 2019 - 02:16 PM.