The potential environmental impacts associated with solar power can vary greatly according to the technology that is being used, with two main one being photovoltaic (PV) solar cells or be concentrating solar thermal plants (CSP). The scale of the system, ranging from small rooftop PV arrays to large-scale PV and CSP projects, can also play a significant role in the level of the environment.

• Benefits of Renewable Energy Use 

1. Less Global Warming

The global warming emissions that come from electricity sectors include fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions. If the supply of renewable energy increased, it would replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce global warming emissions. According to UCS analysis from 2009, it states that “national renewable electricity standard would lower power plant CO2 emissions by 277 million metric tons annually by 2025—the equivalent of the annual output from 70 typical (600 MW) new coal plants.”The study by US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) also mentions that renewable energy could help reduce the electricity sector’s emissions by approximately 81 percent.

2. Improve Public Health

The air and water pollution emitted by coal and natural gas plants can lead to health problems such as breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancer, premature death, and a host of other serious problems. One Harvard University study estimated the life cycle costs and public health effects of coal to be an estimated $74.6 billion every year. That’s equivalent to 4.36 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced—about one-third of the average electricity rate for a typical home. However, according to NREL’s 80-percent-by-2050 renewable energy study states that by including biomass and geothermal, the total water consumption and withdrawal would decrease significantly in a future with high renewables.

3. Jobs and Other Economic Benefits

Unlike fossil fuel technologies that are mechanized and capital intensive, the renewable energy industry is more labor intensive and solar panels need humans to install them. This means that more jobs are created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

4. Reliability and Resilience

Wind and solar energy are less prone to large-scale failure because they are either distributed or modular systems. Distributed systems are spread out over a large geographical area, so a severe weather event in one location will not cut off power to an entire region. Modular systems are composed of numerous individual wind turbines or solar arrays. Even if some of the equipment in the system is damaged, the rest can typically continue to operate.

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According to a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL), installing solar increases value for your home, and it could represent a good return on investment for you when you choose to sell your house. Between 2002 and 2013, the study investigated home pricing trends by analyzing nearly 22,000 home sales; it concluded that installing solar panel would boost resale value. The report found “those home buyers are consistently willing to pay PV home premiums across various states, housing and PV markets, and home types; average premiums across the full sample equate to approximately $4/W or $15,000 for an average-sized 3.6-kW PV system.”

If you are thinking of purchasing a solar system for your home, the study’s conclusions prove that the investment in solar panel is a wise decision. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s a report entitled, “Selling Into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes” explains that homes with solar panels will benefit from a ‘solar premium’ when they are sold because buyers are willing to pay more for a home with solar panels.

How much Does Solar Panel Increase Home Value?

To find the exact calculations, please feel free to use property value increase calculator at Blue Sky Solar Inc.

Federal or Provincial Incentives and Rebates

There are many federal or provincial solar incentives and rebates being offered in Canada from time to time. For example, in April 2018, Province of Manitoba offered incentives programs to both residential and commercial customers, where they could receive up to $200,000 from this incentive, which is almost one-third of the total costs of a solar PV system. After the installation is complete, Manitoba residents immediately noticed their electricity bill drop by 80% to 100%, starting from the first month.

The exciting news is that Ontario government incentive is launching summer of 2018 and Alberta incentive is expected to launch 2019.

The Ontario Incentive The program provides the following:

• $1.00 per watt for solar PV systems
• $370 per kWh for storage systems
• $1.50 per watt for solar PV & Storage systems
• $3.00 per watt for standalone off-grid solar PV and storage

For Alberta Incentive 2019, the residential customers can expect to receive up to $10,000 or 30% of the eligible system costs (lesser of the two), and the commercial customers can expect to receive up to $50,000 or 25% of eligible system costs (lesser of the two).

Looking for all these crazy incentives, think of how much money you can save and the residents don’t have to ever deal with rising hydro bills.

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When using solar panels in Canada, the key concern is that accumulation of snow can block the rays of the sun from reaching inside the solar panels. The light snowfall can slide right off the surface of the solar panels that are installed on the rooftop of residential or commercial buildings.

However, the studies from the “Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)” suggest that they have only found around 6% of annual production is lost due to snow on typical roof angles. This low percentage of loss is also due to the fact that we get fewer hours of winter sunlight and the incident angle of the winter sun is lower in Canada. The snowfall study by the Department of Energy in the USA concludes that snow doesn’t impact snow on solar productions as much as we might first expect.

Then How does that 6% loss translate into annual electricity budgets? If designed properly, the overall impact of snow might cause an annual energy loss equal to $20 or $50 for a residential install. With net-metering, the system can be designed so that the credit built up in the summer will match the user’s needs through the winter, so the user’s net annual energy charges can still be close to $0 over the course of the year.

Can the extra weight of snow damage solar panels? Many solar panel models are designed to withstand this extra weight from snow. Solar panels like Hanwha Q-Cells and Canadian Solar CS6K series are built to withstand at least 5400 pascals of force on the frame due to snow loading which is the equivalent of about 112 pounds-per-square-inch.

With all of these factors considered, it concludes that snows are less of a problem. Simply taking the time to consider expected snowfall in the design of a solar power system eliminates most, if not all the potential problems.

For off-grid and stand-alone systems, the snow that is on the surface of the solar panels can be removed with a soft brush. However, due to safety reasons, it is not recommended to climb on top of a 20-foot-high roof in the middle of the winter to brush the snow off your solar panels. Any activities that involve brushing contact surface of the solar panels should be confirmed with manufacturer’s warranty first.

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So, what is the solar incentive? The Solar PV incentive is offered to all kinds of customers, including residential, who want to put solar PV systems in their homes, commercial, who want to use solar energy for their businesses, and industrial, for factories, warehouses, and offices that want to replace their energy source to solar energy. As per the DC (direct current: electric current that flows in 1 direction only) rating of the solar PV systems, it costs only $2 per watt to install the solar systems through this incentive, compared to the regular $3 per watt rate, provided that the system size is at least 1 kilowatt, to a maximum of 200 kilowatts (1 Kilowatt = 1000 Watt, which you can get up to $200,000 in government incentive).A requirement for this incentive is that the solar PV systems need to be connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid and follow the distributed resource interconnection procedures (also for customers wanting to generate up to 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity and interconnect to our distribution system at voltages of 25 kV or less). Customers who are looking to install systems greater than 10 kilowatts may be required for a customer-paid feasibility study. At the end of the project, the incentive is paid when the solar system is completely installed and passes the required inspections.

What are some advantages to the Manitoba Solar Incentive Program? Through this program, all of the electricity that is generated by solar panels is used by the customer themselves at their own discretion. In case there is any unused excess energy, it can easily be sold back to Manitoba Hydro at the residential rate of $0.07672 per kilowatt-hour. Customers that are investing in solar energy can receive up to $200,000 through this incentive, which is almost one-third of the total costs of a solar PV system. After the installation is complete, customers will immediately notice their electricity bill drop by 80% to 100%, starting from the first month. In addition to saving on their electricity bills, solar panel systems pay for themselves as the customers are only paying the financing fees. Electricity bill payments are money that you will never see again, as for investing in solar panels, it is an investment. It can be compared to a situation of buying a house instead of renting–investing in solar panels is like buying the house, and paying monthly hydro bills is like renting the house. If you choose to sell the house, you will get all the money back when you do so, and until you choose to sell the house, you get to save on your electricity bill costs. Electricity bills also tend to rise every year by approximately 5 to 7%. Not having to pay the bill at all can protect a customer from saving the rise in costs as well. Customers will also not be required to pay large delivery fees that appear on hydro bills, as the production of electricity through solar panels at home gives instant delivery of energy. Investing in solar energy helps you get tax benefits on the savings and earnings through the Manitoba Solar Incentive Program. Lastly, switching to renewable sources of energy helps preserve the environment, reducing pollution and slowing down global warming. This government incentive ends April 30, 2018, so anyone who is looking to take advantage of this program must apply on or before this date, otherwise, they would have to pay full price ($3/watt), leading to higher monthly financing payments.

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Organizer name: Switch Energy

Date: Thursday, 15th February 2018

The first solar event that’s coming up on Thursday, 15^th February 2018 is “Solar Education Night,” organized by Switch Energy, and hosted by solar consultants Vanessa LaRose and Kevin Bowes. This event is focused on educating customers about solar energy, solar panels, smart home monitoring, ManitobaHydro’s solar rebate, and energy monitoring in Manitoba, both off-grid and on-grid. This event will be held at Launch Co-Working Space, Winnipeg, and will last for two hours from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

Organizer: Solar Energy Society of Alberta

Date: Wednesday, February 28th 2018 

An upcoming event in Calgary, AB is “The Solar Opportunity – Working in the Industry,” which is organized by Solar Energy Society of Alberta. This is a free event which will be held on 28^th February, 2018, with a panel of solar industry professionals discussing the solar industry’s expanding job market, and demand for installers, designers, salespeople, energy assessors, teachers, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers. This event will take place at Orpheus Theatre in Calgary, AB, from 5 PM to 9 PM.

Organizer: Solar Energy Society of Alberta

Date: Saturday, March 3rd 2018 

Another upcoming solar event near Winnipeg is the “Solar Trade Show” in Edmonton, AB on 3^rd March, 2018. This event is also organized by Solar Energy Society of Alberta will have speakers talking about solar panel information from solar training opportunities to solar PV return on investment to financing solar projects. The Keynote speaker pf this event is David Miller, who is the North American director for C40 cities, and the former mayor of Toronto. “Solar Cars and Solar Ovens – Family Workshop” is another event organized by Solar Energy Society of Alberta that will be held side by side with the trade show, and will supervised by elementary school teacher James Stuart. This will teach family members about solar power, and solar photovoltaic technology, while also getting the chance to build and take home their very own solar powered car. Both these events are held on the same day at NAIT CAT Building in Edmonton, AB, from 10 AM to 6 PM.

If you have been curious about solar panels, or are looking to invest in a solar system and want to learn more, these solar events in Winnipeg and nearby cities are for you! They will go in detail about all your energy needs, and will answer all the questions that you may have regarding this industry.

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One of the biggest names in Hollywood, who is also an environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio is known for taking a stand against global warming and the conservation of energy, as depicted in his film “The 11th Hour.” His foundation called “Leonardo DiCaprio foundation” continues to work towards environmental issues which include renewable energy, forest preservation, and clean water access. In his film “Inception,” DiCaprio took the initiative to power the entire movie set with solar energy, which cut costs for production, while still being a box-office hit.

Edward Norton is one of the philanthropists, and a three-time academy award winner, who is one of the first celebrities to catch on to solar power. Norton paired up with the solar-panel manufacturer and oil company, BP, to provide solar energy for lower-income families in Los Angeles. To encourage other celebrities to do the same, and to start a movement, Norton publicly asked other celebrities to match his solar purchases for families with lower incomes, which led to Hollywood superstars like Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, and Owen Wilson to join the movement.

Brad Pitt, who’s another participant of Norton’s movement, took an initiative of his own to support renewable energy. After the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, Brad Pitt’s foundation “Make It Right” helped rebuild hundreds of houses in New Orleans, which were designed to be energy-efficient, powered by Solar Energy.

The Sydney Theater Company in Australia directors, actress Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton, completed a project installing 1900 solar panels in The Wharf Theater, which provide 70 percent of the energy needs at the facility. Blanchett also powers her own home in Australia with energy generated from solar panels.

The Grammy-winning band Maroon 5 take all sorts of measures to conserve energy, and sustainable touring. The band uses bi-diesel powered tour buses, and promote recycling at their concerts. They use their stage as a platform to talk about renewable energy and promote Solar Power.

Now you know all about your favorite celebrities switching to solar energy. If this inspires you to take initiative and switch to renewable energy as well, there are many options for professional solar installation in Canada, and the Greater Toronto Area. Contact Blue Sky Solar for your professional solar installation now!

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Solar energy is an abundant energy available in nature. The human race needs to harness it and utilize it for our needs. Solar Panels are a way to use this vastly available solar energy. Solar Panels are made of silicon which absorbs the sun rays and the atom in it gets excited along with electrons. The atom then shuts out the electron which comes out of the copper wire in the form of electricity. The electricity we get is DC(Direct Current) which needs to be converted to AC(alternating current) using invert-er. Once we have the AC it can be used from our plug points. Solar Panels in Ontario are very widely used because it’s installation carries many benefits.

First of all solar energy is a source of clean, renewable energy. Utilizing it using solar panels in Ontario contributes to a pollution free environment which is not possible in case of hydro-electricity or thermal electricity. Both sources of electricity generation brings toxic waste and contributes to air pollution. If an individual installs solar panel then the Ontario government & municipality gives some financial assistance to the owners.

Solar investment is secure because it brings a source of income for the owner in the long run. The excess unused power is fed into the grid and that is a source of income for the solar panel owner depending on the amount of power fed.  The intial investment cost is realized in 8-10 years and the money coming in after that is pure income. Certain solar incentive programs are available in Ontario like Micro-FIT(Feed in Tariff) program and NET Metering program which allows the solar owner 10-15% return on investment. Details about these programs are available in E-book which can be downloaded from the website which is being linked with the keyword.

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