MicroFIT Walk Thru - Multiple Projects on One Property

Last week I was looking at the siting issues involved in putting up a MicroFIT project on the piece of property show below.

When looking at the layout I was curious to see weather I would be able to put half of my project on the garage in the rear of the property and the other half on the home in the front. I was aware that the FIT program had put restrictions on people having multiple microFIT projects on the same piece of property but I wasn't sure how they had addressed the issue of having one microFIT project spread between different roofs on one piece of property. In looking for an answer I came across this document that was posted on the OPA's MicroFIT website (microfit.powerauthority.on.ca). The document states that:

"...a single rooftop facility may have generating equipment located on multiple buildings on a single property so long as the total capacity of the generating equipment located on the property is reflected in a single application and shares a common connection point"

 So it looks like I'm in business. I should be able to have the projects share a common connection point. Lets see how much room I have in order to determine what the approximate size of the project is going to be.

Using the local mapping software provided by the local municipality I was able to determine that the roof on the home in the front of the property is roughly 693 sqft. The roof of the garage in the back is able to provide another 567 sqft. This will give me a total rooftop area of 1,260 Square Feet. At this point I do not have any particular panel in mind for use in my projects but I will use the popular Sharp 230 in order to estimate how much energy I may be able to generate. This panel is compliant with the Ontario Domestic Content rules and will roughly take up 17.54 square feet (39.1" x 64.6").

Using these measurements I was able to determine that I should be able to fit 39 panels on the front home and 32 panels on the rear garage. Of course this assumes that I will be able to cover every square inch of space on the two roofs with solar panels. What's important to take away from this calculation though is the fact that I will most likely have to split the two projects up in order to reach 10kw.

Using a conservative estimate of 30% wasted space on the roofs I was able to calculate the size of my system as follows:

Using the 30% estimate of wasted space the areas now shrink to:

• Front = 693 x 0.7 = 485 Square Feet
• Rear = 567 x 0.7 = 397 Square Feet

Using the Sharp 230 on this project would allow for 

• Front = 485 / 17.54 = 27 panels = 6,210 Watts
• Rear = 397 / 17.54 = 22 panels = 5,060 Watts

Therefore I should be able to fit 11,217 Watts between the two roofs or 11.216 kw. With the MicroFIT program it is important to note that the Ontario Power Authority will rate your system based on the output of your inverter and not the actually size of the array.

The Lord's MicroFIT

My Lord! Check out this microFIT project! Amen.

MicroFIT Walk-Thru - Siting

I am currently in the process of applying for a home microFIT application and thought that some of you who might be thinking about doing the same would like to see exactly what is involved in the process. So keep an eye on my blog for updates on what I'm doing!

I guess the first thing I had to do in order to put together a MicroFIT application was to look at the physical orientation of the property and building. Google maps is a good resource for this but I usually find the resolution to be lacking once you zoom into the home or property in question. I find that most municipalities generally have a mapping feature on their website with air photos of the area. I like using the air photos as they usually provide a better picture of the property or roof in question. On top of that most of the local mapping software also has measurement tools that will allow you to get an idea of how much square footage you have to work with on your roof. I've included both the google maps and air photo pictures of the property I am applying for.

Renewable Ontario Energy Headlines - Jobs from the Sky, More Modules for Ontario

North Dundas set for solar farms

Sovello Enters into Manufacturing Agreement for Solar Modules in Canada

 

Renewable Ontario Headlines - Hudak Goes Off, Local Officials Challenged, Wind Foes Solwed, FIT Continues

Timing is everything, especially in politics. Saw this interesting article this morning.

Tim Hudak Wants Moratorium to Spread Onshore

Here are some more headlines from the last week:

Wind power foes lose legal challenge

Ontario regulatory uncertainty clouds solar power market, report

Elected Officials Challenged: Come Clean!

DEGERenergie set to double capacity of Ontario manufacturing facility

The Receding Horizons of Renewable Energy 

Don’t blame green energy

Ontario Power Authority Announces Second Round Of Renewable Energy Contracts

Wind Works sells five Ontario projects

 

 

 

Less Green Jobs, More Green Jobs, Turbine Prices Drop, Niagara to Harness Wind

Province announces 40 new energy projects 

Niagara Region Wind Corporation awarded contract from Ontario Government for its 230 MW Wind Power Project 

Wind power industry says thousands of jobs ‘scorched’ by Ontario policy change

Oversupply Causes Drop in Wind Turbine Prices

Province announces 40 new energy projects
The Ontario Power Authority has approved 40 new large renewable energy projects including solar, wind and water. The authority says the projects will create 7,000 direct and indirect jobs, including construction, operation and maintenance, and attract $3 billion in private-sector investment. [Read More]

Niagara Region Wind Corporation awarded contract from Ontario Government for its 230 MW Wind Power Project
Niagara Region Wind Corporation (NRWC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Feed-In-Tariff contract from the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) for its proposed Niagara Region Wind Power Project.[Read More]

Wind power industry says thousands of jobs ‘scorched’ by Ontario policy change
Ontario’s decision not to proceed with proposed offshore wind projects jeopardizes thousands of potential construction jobs and billions in investment dollars says the developer of a multi-billion dollar offshore project.[Read More]

Oversupply Causes Drop in Wind Turbine Prices
Wind energy, it appears, has never been so competitive. Prices for wind turbines last year dropped below €1 million ($1.36 million) per megawatt for the first time since 2005, due largely to over-capacity, greater manufacturing efficiency and increased scale, according to the market researcher Bloomberg New Energy Finance.[Read More]

Renewable Ontario Headlines - Kourtoff Speaks Again, One Stop Panel Pricing, Green Growth in Brantford, FIT Stops

Trillium CEO Questions Ontario's Offshore Decision 

PanelPrice.com - New Website for Solar Panel Price Comparison

Brantford, Area 'Well-Positioned' For Green Job Growth 

Energy in FITs and starts

Trillium CEO Questions Ontario's Offshore Decision

Trillium Wind Power Corp. has spent the past 15 years working toward developing four offshore wind projects in the Canadian side of the Great Lakes. But a recent decision by the Ontario government to stop offshore wind development puts the developer's pipeline of up to 3,500 MW in jeopardy.
 

Ontario's Ministry of Environment (MOE) took many in the wind industry by surprise when it announced that it was halting development of proposed offshore wind projects while further scientific research is conducted. 
 

John Kourtoff, Trillium's CEO, says there are no environmental issues with wind projects that are located 10 km out. [Read More]

PanelPrice.com - New Website for Solar Panel Price Comparison

Technology marketing specialist HMG has just announced the official preview of PanelPrice.com, a new online shopping platform dedicated to solar panel price comparison. PanelPrice.com helps to buy solar power modules for residential locations and commercial PV sites. It is intended for home owners and project developers. “We are looking forward to our new website because it will give savvy shoppers a long awaited tool for finding the right solar panels from trustworthy merchants. Finally, buyers of solar energy products can save a lot of money through our solar panel price comparison.” says Jens Bonerz, founder of HMG. [Read More]

Brantford, Area 'Well-Positioned' For Green Job Growth

A report that identifies which sectors show the most promise for the creation of "green" jobs has been released by the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie.

The 62-page report pinpoints agriculture, construction, manufacturing, utilities, transportation and warehousing, and waste remediation as the top sectors for green employment.[Read More]

Energy in FITs and starts

Ontario’s feed-in tariff program elegantly kills two birds with one stone. First, it empowers the private sector to develop the clean power projects Ontario needs to meet its promise to close its coal plants. Second, it provides a big boost to green manufacturing with a target of creating 50,000 new jobs. For the FIT program to succeed, investors in projects and in manufacturing facilities need to remain confident that the program is stable and their investments won’t be subject to unexpected or arbitrary rule changes.[Read More]

 

Duguid Explains Ontario MicroFIT Problems

This letter was in the Londoner yesterday.

Please accept this letter on behalf of the Minister of Energy, the Hon. Brad Duguid.

Ontario’s MicroFIT Program

Thousands of Ontario families, farmers and community groups are taking part in Ontario’s MicroFIT program – which allows small scale renewable energy projects to provide power to Ontario’s energy grid. Over 20,000 Ontarians have submitted applications, wanting to participate in the program. So far over 3,700 projects have been connected to the grid and another 2,500 project approvals are ready to go.

Due to the success of the MicroFIT program, the number of applications we have received is currently outpacing needed upgrades to the system in some areas. This is an issue we first identified in our Long Term Energy Plan and we have taken a number of steps to address it. We are working diligently to make the needed upgrades in order to connect those projects as quickly as possible.
Last week we communicated with applicants to address the issue with them, let them know where they stood, and more importantly, what we are doing to find a solution for them. In order to properly address the issue and resolve it in a timely manner, we are asking applicants who have not already done so to contact their Local Distribution Company to determine where they intend to connect their project. This information will be crucial to being able to make the necessary upgrades and connect as many people as quickly as possible.

We also made a change to the MicroFIT program to ensure that all applicants are screened upfront to determine whether they can connect right away, or if they would need to wait.
Currently, about five per cent of applicants are facing delays in connecting their MicroFIT projects. To resolve these issues, I have made it a priority for Hydro One to target areas of greatest need for upgrades to our transmission and distribution system, to enable projects to connect as soon as possible. In addition, we are offering to extend the conditional offers to MicroFIT applicants for one year for those who are not able to connect right away. This will provide them with more flexibility with their project as we make the necessary upgrades.
Ideally, we’d be working with a modern, 21st century system but unfortunately for too long, necessary upgrades were not done and the previous government did not make the investments that our system truly needed. We have made great strides in upgrading our system – over 5000 KM of transmission and distribution lines have been restored over the last several years. But more work needs to be done.

I want to assure your readers that we will be making the necessary investments to address the challenges we are experiencing today, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the MicroFIT program and continue to further Ontario’s place as a leader in the clean energy revolution.
While the Opposition wants to kill these programs, we're determined to make them work for Ontario families and farmers.

Brad Duguid

Minister of Energy

So the OPA is giving proponents who cannot connect right away an extra year to connect their project. This would be great if they did not give Hydro One two years to make the appropriate upgrades to the grid needed to connect these projects. Joe Volts is no rocket scientist but this doesn't seem to add up? What do you think?

OPA To Cancel All Offshore FIT Applications / Contracts

I wanted to post about this because I don't think that this particular piece of information is something that is going to make the news, or for that matter I don't even know if it is a piece of information that the OPA is going to publicly announce. If you take a look at the OPA's website you'll see the following:

Offshore wind applications no longer accepted

The Ministry of the Environment announced on February 11, 2011, that Ontario will not proceed with proposed offshore wind projects while further scientific research is conducted. To comply with this policy direction, the OPA will no longer accept FIT applications for offshore wind projects.

I can see the reasoning for the OPA not accepting any future offshore applications. However, at the same time the OPA is planning on taking another step that I personally do not agree with.

Duguid Gives Thumbs Up To Needed Capacity In Southwestern Ontario

This interesting letter came across my desk this morning and I thought I would share it with you all. It's a letter (dated February 17th, 2011) from the Minister of Energy to the Ontario Energy Board urging them to give Hydro One the authority to immediately work on expanding capacity in the Southwestern Ontario Region. Have a look...

Wind Energy High, Ontario Questioned, GEA Creates Jobs, BILDing an Example

Wind Energy Increasing Its Contribution To Ontario's Electricity Supply 

Ontario denies losing its taste for renewable energy

Green Energy Act lures solar industries to Guelph 

BILD headquarters goes green with solar PV roof-top installation

 

 

Ontario Says NO to Offshore Wind.....For Now.

The Ministry of the Environment has just announced that the Province of Ontario will put a stop to offshore wind development in the Great Lakes until further scientific knowledge can be collected with respect to fresh water offshore installations. So I guess that means that proponents of offshore wind projects are back to a familiar situation.  In 2006 the government essentially proposed the same thing, barring anyone from developing offshore wind projects so that the government could investigate the potential effects of offshore wind before the offshore gold rush started. 

Offshore Wind Installation in Europe

The problem with this is that the moratorium was lifted in 2008 without any sign of progress from the Ontario government. No new rules, regulations or scientific knowledge. Developers who decided to proceed with the offshore application process were faced with a difficult task in dealing with a government that had not set rules for required environmental studies or reports. Applications were met with delay after delay as the government tried to figure out what it was to do. To this date we still have no rules with respect to appropriate setbacks and restricted areas for offshore wind development. Whether you are for or against the development of offshore wind turbines in our great lakes you have to agree that our government has done a poor job at handling this situation.  They've sat on the fence and played the waiting game for the past 5 years.  Today's posting is nothing short of disappointing from both the pro wind and anti-wind points of view.

The Price We Pay

I came across this article last weekend and I wanted to share it with you.  The author is able to put the whole scenario in simple terms, like this:

"One way to think about this is to compare it to purchasing a car. It is expensive when you have to make your monthly payments, but once it is paid off there is a period of time when it is fairly inexpensive to own that car, aside from gas and the occasional breakdown. Eventually, those breakdowns become increasingly frequent and your fuel economy is nowhere near that of a new car, so it becomes time to trade it in. Or, you continue to fix and repair every breakdown until the body rusts apart to the point it is no longer safe to drive.

The problem is, you had grown accustomed to not making car payments, and so the new car – even though it uses less gas and creates less pollution – hits your pocketbook. But you cannot magically have your old car back. So you can blame the government for making new cars less polluting, or for introducing a new tax since you bought your last one, but ultimately buying a car in 2011 is more expensive than running one you had paid off 10 years ago."

I love this analogy and enjoyed the rest of this article. You can read the whole thing here.

Burn My Garbage.....Please!

A friend of mine sent me this article about a greenhouse company burning garbage to heat their greenhouses.  Sounds like a great idea, right?  Well, apparently the local council is concerned about what's coming out of the smoke stacks. 

WINDSOR, Ont. -- A Kingsville company that's burning pellets made from Toronto garbage wants to add nine boilers to heat 170 acres of greenhouses.
"I'm horrified," said Kingsville Coun. Gail Stiffler.
"I really feel we need to do some very careful investigation and testing to make sure we're not causing an environmental disaster."
Stiffler wants the pellets tested and wants to know more about the air quality and runoff around the greenhouse.
REMASCO (Renewable Energy Management and Services Company) has started an environmental screening process with the Ministry of the Environment and expects to hold public meetings in midFebruary.
Stiffler wants more study done and is calling for a full environmental assessment instead.
REMASCO is heating 100 acres of greenhouses at Southshore Greenhouses on Seacliff Drive in Kingsville with two of what it calls "gasifiers."
The pilot project started in 2008. The company is seeking to add five more units at Southshore and put four units at Agriville Farms, a Road 2 greenhouse complex that is also part of the Mucci Group.
If the $12-million project is allowed, it could be done over five or six years and would heat about 70 more acres of greenhouses, project manager Jim Gallant said Monday.
"We're to the point where we've demonstrated we can comply with all the emission standards," Gallant said.
While the project meets guidelines for municipal solid waste incinerators, Gallant stressed the units are not incinerators but gasifiers. He said they could also be called pellet-fired boilers. He said the pellets are heated up to produce a gas of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which is burned in two stages so it can be used to heat water which is circulated through pipes to heat greenhouses.
Gallant said a health risk assessment has been done and will be available later on the company's website at www. remasco.ca. He said the emissions don't smell, aren't black like emissions from other greenhouse stacks and are more environmentally friendly than greenhouses which use coal or bunker oil.
The company is also working with the University of Guelph on a fuel crop such as willow and poplar trees that could grow on marginal farmland.
The greenish, grey pellets are made at the Dongara Pellet Plant. Gallant said the garbage is sifted and sorted so it doesn't include food waste, ferrous metals, glass, electronic waste or PVC plastic.
"The pellet isn't really the same as saying I'm going to take a green garbage bag and throw it into a fire," he said.
Derek Coronado of the Citizens Environment Alliance, who toured the facility in December, said it's not like the Detroit incinerator. The emissions coming out of the Kingsville gasifiers may meet the provincial guidelines and be less toxic than burning coal and bunker oil, but is that good enough? he asked. Coronado said there should be better regulations on what the other greenhouses burn and wonders about the cumulative effect. If the project is approved, more greenhouses may add the systems which means more emissions and more trucks delivering the pellets, he said.
Coronado also questioned the idea of using garbage as fuel since it doesn't encourage recycling.
Kingsville Coun. Gord Queen said the former council allowed the pilot project and approached it with caution. He said it will be interesting to see what the newly elected council thinks. "It's the fear of the unknown," Queen said. "Show us the proof that it's safe."
shill@windsorstar.com

© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Company+alternative+heating+request+horrifies+Kingsville+councillor/4215908/story.html#ixzz1CutDMIcP

I am not all that familiar with this process (so maybe a few of you could fill me in or correct me if I make any erroneous statements) but it seems to me as though these councilors should be more concerned with what other greenhouses are burning to heat their farms, coal and bunker oil. Personally I do not see how this proposal could not be greeted with open arms by the councilors in this city? Thoughts?

Hello...

Welcome,

I hope that I will be able to provide some current and interesting input on the renewable energy industry in Ontario. It is an industry i work in and one that I have a passion for.

Stay tuned!!