More individuals install panels on their property, but large projects of more than five megawatts are also popping up
Improved technology, a dramatic drop in the cost of solar panels and provincial and federal goals for greener energy have created a massive demand for solar power, the head of Alberta’s solar organization told Alberta’s general farm organization.
In the past 10 years, the price of solar panels has dropped 90 percent, making home and farm solar affordable, said Heather MacKenzie, executive director of Alberta Solar.
“Because of this more people are investing in solar for economic reasons rather than purely environmental ones. People used to see solar as a risky investment, but now it is viewed as a logical and necessary component of our energy sector that will only grow in the future as part of the market share.”
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In Alberta, microgeneration, the small-scale solar projects on homes, farm buildings, schools and arenas, has grown from five megawatts in 2015 to 118 megawatts today.
“I get calls all the time from farmers excited to adopt solar in one fashion or another,” she told the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.
Last year, more than 600 people from 60 municipalities registered for an online solar conference. Registrations for the upcoming solar conference slated to run Feb. 7-11 has doubled from last year. Participants have the same goal — to reduce their electricity bills. The recent growth of solar is with solar photovoltaic (PV) rather than solar thermal. Solar PV harnesses the sun’s light, solar thermal harnesses the sun’s heat.
“I hear that all the time when farmers call me. They really would like to be more independent to generate their own energy as often they generate the food on their table. Solar is something you can do on your own.”
All microgeneration projects in Alberta, residential or commercial, must be built to the size that is equal to or less than their on-site consumption over the course of a year.
The provincial cap on production means farmers will still have power bills because power bills still have added administration costs, plus costs for electricity distribution and transmission, said Dean Rogan of Vermilion.
“If we use solar panels we can offset our consumption cost, but our biggest cost here by far are distribution costs,” said Rogan.
MacKenzie said excess power produced from solar panels during sunny periods is put back on the electrical grid and can be used to offset future power bills. The arrays aren’t allowed to be large enough to cover all the costs, including distribution and transmission. It’s a regulation Solar Alberta hopes the government will change with enough pressure from new producers.
“We’re lobbying the provincial government to get rid of the cap on production for smaller systems, but they haven’t budged on that yet,” she said.
“The two biggest issues that come up when talking to farmers is, ‘why is there a consumption cap in Alberta’ and ‘why can you only produce as much as you consume?’ ” she said.
While that microgeneration growth is impressive, MacKenzie said the real story in Alberta is utility scale solar, the large solar farms of more than five megawatts of energy that are popping up across the province.
There are large field-size projects producing 736 megawatts of energy into the utility grid and a list of 9,174 of megawatts on the waiting list for approval or under review by regulators.
“By 2024 we are anticipating a 10-fold growth in large solar farms,” she said.
Companies from around the world are looking to Alberta’s free-wheeling electricity market, sunny skies and quick transition away from coal as the logical place to build large-scale solar farms.
“We have incredible solar potential. The government of Alberta has set a goal of 30 percent renewables on the grid by 2030. The federal government committed to net zero electricity by 2035. When you combine these goals, they really have compelled the growth of solar and other renewables in the province.”
AFA member Humphrey Banack wondered with the push to solar energy, how Alberta will be assured of reliable electricity.
MacKenzie said solar proponents recognize that solar will only be part of the electricity mix.
The key to a reliable system will be increased energy storage and interconnection of the transmission lines with other provinces to ensure reliable electricity.
“A diverse mix of energy sources is going to be really important as we get to net zero.”
