Commercial Properties Still Turn To Rooftop Solar
Loblaw states 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 tasks have yet to acquire extensive traction with Canadian developers.
Financing can be intricate and it can take time for developers to get returns on their financial investments, however brand-new solar tasks are still being announced, says Victoria Papp, senior director of strategy and innovation at BOMA Canada, a group representing Canadian structure owners and supervisors.
" Solar uptake in business property is still far from being an extensive practice across the industry, but it's definitely increasing," Ms. Papp says. "It can be challenging to retrofit structures that were never designed with solar panels in mind."
This month, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association stated it's tracked more than $31-billion in investment in renewable resource - such as solar and wind power sources - throughout the country. A recently launched report likewise found Canada's solar, wind and energy storage sectors have grown by 46 per cent over the previous five years, with 10,000 megawatts of brand-new capability expected to be connected by 2030.
As a contrast, nearly 6,500 megawatts of solar power - enough to power as numerous as two-million homes - was generated 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 companies are taking the lead in scaling up projects of their own.
In late July, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. announced it's developing what it states will be Canada's biggest roof solar system installation at its new distribution centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., north of Toronto.
The $10-million, 7.5-megawatt job, anticipated to be finished in 2026, will cover the building's roof with almost 435,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels - about the size of 7 football fields. It's anticipated to produce 8.5-million kilowatt-hours a year, about a quarter of the needs of Loblaw's automatic distribution centre.
" The building itself is extremely energy-intensive due to the automation and refrigeration systems within," states Tom Marson, Loblaw's vice-president of developing innovation and energy. "The solar panel system will help us balance out energy use in the building."
Great Circle Solar Management Corp. will be the home builder, owner and operator of the project and sell the power to Loblaw under a long-lasting contract. The job is the biggest of almost 60 rooftop solar initiatives in which the two business 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 facility and used to straight power the site's operations in East Gwillimbury," says Clarke Herring, Great Circle Solar's CEO.
Meeting corporate climate targets
Commercial circulation centres are not the only types of residential or commercial properties setting up large-scale solar jobs. In Waterloo, Ont., Conestoga College set up a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon campus. The system, which went live in 2023, generates about 1.6-million kwh of sustainable, clean energy a year, enough to power at least 40,000 homes.
The system, which spreads out more than 3,000 photovoltaic panels over the roofing systems of numerous buildings, helps Conestoga satisfy 15 per cent of its annual electrical energy requirements and offset peak demand from the traditional grid by 57 percent.
" We're devoted at Conestoga to supporting Canada's tidy growth and climate-change goals for a more sustainable future," states Tim Schill, the college's vice-president of centers and capital advancement. "This project is a substantial advance in assisting minimize [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 generates about 1.6-million kilowatt hours of renewable, clean energy a year.Supplied/ Conestoga College
Loblaw says one of the reasons for installing photovoltaic panels at its circulation centre is to help satisfy the business's net-zero emissions decrease targets.
" We're aiming to attain net no for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040," Mr. Marson states. Scope 1 emissions are produced directly from sources owned or managed by a business, while Scope 2 emissions account for those produced from the generation of purchased electrical power that's consumed by the business or organization.
" Procuring and consuming renewable energy on residential or commercial properties where high amounts of energy is taken in is an important action for us," Mr. Marson says, including it's especially important for Loblaw, because the business interacts with consumers daily.
" We operate countless stores all throughout the country, which suggests we are deeply woven into the material of the communities we serve," he states. "Millions of day-to-day consumers and our 220,000 coworkers and workers expect us to lead."
According to Mr. Marson, Loblaw originally set carbon reduction targets for its corporate stores in 2016, and it fulfilled those years ahead of schedule. "We reset our standard in 2020, and added franchise stores and Shoppers Drug Mart locations. Since then, we have actually decreased our carbon footprint 16 per cent and continue to make substantial progress."
Finding the best financing
Mr. Schill says constructing little and medium-sized solar jobs, such as Conestoga's, can be challenging because of difficulties securing financing, in addition to shifting regulations and incentive programs.
" Until recently, it was simpler 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 undesirable federal carbon tax was a problem because the tax had used natural gas more costly and solar power more appealing, he adds.
Mr. Schill is encouraged by recent relocations such as the brand-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, states the country can benefit from relocations in the United States to stop solar-power rewards.
" Investors in the U.S. must now price-in high political risk," he states. "Canada, by contrast, has broad, multi-party support for sustainability. This predictability is a vital advantage for bring in the long-lasting, patient capital needed genuine estate and facilities projects like solar."
Great Circle Solar's Mr. Herring concurs. "Going solar provides an important long-term fiscal hedge against unpredictable future electrical energy expenses."
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