Commercial Properties still Turn To Rooftop Solar
Loblaw says its $10-million, 7.5-megawatt rooftop solar job - anticipated to be finished in 2026 - at its distribution centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., will be the country's largest.Supplied/ Loblaw Cos.
Ltd. Large-scale rooftop solar jobs have yet to get prevalent traction with Canadian designers.
Financing can be complex and it can take time for designers to gain returns on their investments, however brand-new solar tasks are still being announced, says Victoria Papp, senior director of method and development at BOMA Canada, a group representing Canadian structure owners and supervisors.
" Solar uptake in industrial property is still far from being a prevalent practice throughout the industry, but it's definitely increasing," Ms. Papp says. "It can be challenging to retrofit buildings that were never developed with solar panels in mind."
This month, the Canadian Renewable resource Association stated it's tracked more than $31-billion in financial investment in eco-friendly energy - such as solar and wind power sources - across the nation. A just recently released report also discovered Canada's solar, wind and energy storage sectors have actually grown by 46 per cent over the previous 5 years, with 10,000 megawatts of new capacity expected to be connected by 2030.
As a comparison, nearly 6,500 megawatts of solar energy - enough to power as lots of as two-million homes - was created in Canada in 2022, according to the federal government.
Scaling solar throughout Canada
While national financial investment figures highlight solar's growing role in Canada's energy mix, some business are taking the lead in scaling up projects of their own.
In late July, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. announced it's constructing what it states will be Canada's biggest rooftop planetary system installation at its new distribution centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., north of Toronto.
The $10-million, 7.5-megawatt job, anticipated to be completed in 2026, will cover the building's roofing with nearly 435,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels - about the size of seven football fields. It's anticipated to produce 8.5-million kilowatt-hours a year, about a quarter of the requirements of Loblaw's automated distribution centre.
" The structure itself is very energy-intensive due to the automation and refrigeration systems within," states Tom Marson, Loblaw's vice-president of constructing innovation and energy. "The photovoltaic panel system will help us offset energy usage in the structure."
Great Circle Solar Management Corp. will be the home builder, owner and operator of the task and offer the power to Loblaw under a long-term agreement. The job is the biggest of almost 60 roof solar efforts in which the 2 companies have actually partnered in the previous ten years.
" Power from the solar panel system on the roofing system is fed directly into the electrical rooms of the center and used to directly power the site's operations in East Gwillimbury," states Clarke Herring, Great Circle Solar's CEO.
Meeting corporate climate targets
Commercial distribution centres are not the only kinds of residential or commercial properties installing large-scale solar projects. In Waterloo, Ont., Conestoga College established a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon school. The system, which went live in 2023, produces about 1.6-million kwh of sustainable, tidy energy a year, enough to power a minimum of 40,000 homes.
The system, which spreads more than 3,000 photovoltaic panels over the roofing systems of numerous buildings, assists Conestoga meet 15 per cent of its annual electrical power needs and offset peak need from the traditional grid by 57 percent.
" We're dedicated at Conestoga to supporting Canada's clean growth and climate-change goals for a more sustainable future," says Tim Schill, the college's vice-president of facilities and capital advancement. "This task is a substantial action forward in helping in reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions and promoting sustainable stewardship of our environment and resources."
Ontario's Conestoga College has actually set up a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon campus that produces about 1.6-million kilowatt hours of eco-friendly, clean energy a year.Supplied/ Conestoga College
Loblaw says one of the factors for setting up solar panels at its distribution centre is to assist fulfill the company's net-zero emissions decrease targets.
" We're intending to accomplish net absolutely no for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040," Mr. Marson says. Scope 1 emissions are produced straight from sources owned or controlled by a business, while Scope 2 emissions account for those produced from the generation of purchased electrical power that's taken in by the company or company.
" Procuring and consuming renewable resource on residential or commercial properties where high quantities of energy is taken in is an important action for us," Mr. Marson says, including it's particularly essential for Loblaw, since the business connects with customers daily.
" We operate countless shops all throughout the nation, which suggests we are deeply woven into the fabric of the communities we serve," he states. "Countless everyday customers and our 220,000 colleagues and staff members expect us to lead."
According to Mr. Marson, Loblaw originally set carbon decrease targets for its business shops in 2016, and it fulfilled those years ahead of schedule. "We reset our standard in 2020, and added franchise stores and Shoppers Drug Mart areas. Since then, we've decreased our carbon footprint 16 percent and continue to make considerable progress."
Finding the right funding
Mr. Schill states constructing little and medium-sized solar jobs, such as Conestoga's, can be challenging since of troubles protecting funding, along with shifting policies and reward programs.
" Until recently, it was easier to get beneficial government-backed funding if you had a $100-million job," he states. The move by Prime Minister Mark Carney to ditch the unpopular federal carbon tax was a setback because the tax had made using natural gas more costly and solar power more appealing, he adds.
Mr. Schill is encouraged by current moves such as the new $100-million partnership between the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Scotiabank, which intends to help owners retrofit small and mid-sized industrial buildings.
Ali Hoss, head of sustainability and ESG at Colliers Canada, says the nation can gain from relocations in the United States to terminate solar-power rewards.
" Investors in the U.S. need to now price-in high political risk," he says. "Canada, by contrast, has broad, multi-party support for sustainability. This predictability is a crucial advantage for drawing in the long-term, patient capital required genuine estate and infrastructure tasks like solar."
Great Circle Solar's Mr. Herring concurs. "Going solar supplies an essential long-term financial hedge versus uncertain future electrical power costs."
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