Alternative energy sector hails HRM for extending Solar City - TheChronicleHerald.ca (registration)

Halifax’s plan to extend its Solar City program is a ray of sunshine for Nova Scotia’s fledgling alternative energy sector, proponents said Monday.

“The solar division of our small business has doubled in size to 12 employees during the first two years of the program,” said Babak Farsi, operations manager with the Doctor Solar division of Scotian Renewables Inc.

“We’re certainly excited to see it extended and expanded to include new ways of using alternative energy.”

During the first phase of Solar City, Doctor Solar operated as a subcontractor and handled about 400 installations of solar hot water systems in the municipality.

Dartmouth’s Thermo Dynamics Ltd. was the official solar system manufacturer and installer for the project.

“Before installations, our solar division also conducted between 2,500 and 3,000 home assessments to provide consumers with two-page written reports that provided concrete examples of how they could reduce their hot water costs,” Farsi said.

The next edition of Solar City will provide homeowners with a more diverse range of alternative energy options while maintaining a focus on local content in terms of equipment and installation, he said.

“Solar City provided a benefit for participating homeowners while providing a big boost in consumer confidence for the industry.”

Gordon Wilkie, chairman of Solar Nova Scotia, said Halifax Regional Municipality contributed in a major way to the vitality of the alternative energy sector in the province.

“People in Halifax have purchased more solar hot water systems than anywhere else in the country combined,” Wilkie said.

The original two-year pilot Solar City program to encourage people to install the systems was extended last week for another three years.

Version 2 will include solar photovoltaic technology for electricity and solar air technology for space heating.

Applications for version 2 of the Solar City program are supposed to be available for homeowners in about three months.

Wilkie said the initial pilot brought a beneficial cohesion to the industry, with stringent post-installation monitoring requirements and resulting consumer confidence.

“Due to the monitoring requirements, people quickly saw how effective the technology was and how dramatically they could reduce energy costs.”

He said the number of metered photovoltaic installations is increasing exponentially in the province, with growth in off-grid connections, as well.

“The monitoring in the Solar City program enabled people to change their habits, like timing the dishwasher to come on at noon, and use hot water when the tank is replenished and filled with cheap hot water.”

Evidence of growth on the manufacturing and installation sides of the industry can be found in increased enrolments in alternative energy programs at the Nova Scotia Community College Waterfront campus, where Wilkie is an instructor in electrical engineering technology and renewables.

“Students know jobs are available in the sector and they are anxious to acquire the required skill sets.”

He said elective courses in renewable energy affiliated with electrical and electronics technology programs are regularly filled.

Solar City offered financing for solar thermal technology for hot water systems through municipal property taxes.

“The number of residential installations under the pilot program exceeds the number of residential installations Canada-wide on an annual basis,” a municipal staff report said.

It said about 91 per cent of homeowners participating in the pilot program financed their average $8,000 (after grants) solar hot water system through the city for 10 years at a 3.5 per cent interest rate.

With Brett Bundale, city hall reporter