Solar power in Canada

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Solar potential of Canada

Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Canada have been non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops and lumber. In 2001, there were more than 12,000 residential solar water heating systems and 300 commercial/ industrial solar hot water systems in use. These systems presently comprise a small fraction of Canada's energy use, but some government studies suggest they could make up as much as five percent of the country's energy needs by the year 2025.

Contents

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are increasingly used as standalone units, mostly as off-grid distributed electricity generation to power remote homes, telecommunications equipment, oil and pipeline monitoring stations and navigational devices. The Canadian PV market has grown quickly and Canadian companies make solar modules, controls, specialized water pumps, high-efficiency refrigerators and solar lighting systems. Grid-connected solar PV systems have grown significantly in recent years and reached over 1.8 GW of cumulative installed capacity by the end of 2014.

Solar potential

Canada has plentiful solar energy resources thanks to its large area. Regions of high solar potential based on global horizontal irradiation being located in the British Columbia Interior, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick, southern Nova Scotia, and western Prince Edward Island. The regions of highest solar potential are located in southern extremes of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. [1] [2] [3]

However, the country has a relatively low level of solar irradiance due to its high latitude. This, combined with cloud cover, results in a low 6% capacity factor, compared to a 15% capacity factor in the United States. [4] The northern territories have a smaller solar potential, and less direct sunlight, because of their even higher latitude. The National Energy Board predicts that solar electricity will grow to be 1.2% of the country's total energy production by 2040. [5]

By region

Ontario

With the introduction of a Feed-in tariff (FIT) in 2009, Ontario became a global leader for solar energy projects. The program was the first of its kind in North America.[ citation needed ] Thanks to the FIT program, Ontario was the home of what was temporarily the largest solar farm in the world (in October 2010) until surpassed by larger farms in China and India. Located in Sarnia, Ontario, the 97 megawatt [6] Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant can power more than 12,000 homes. [7] Ontario has several other large PV power plants, other than the Sarnia plant. The 23.4 MW Arnprior Solar Generating Station was built in 2009, and is expected to expand to 80 MW. [8] Additionally, a 68 megawatt solar farm can be found in Sault Ste. Marie, and a new 100 megawatt solar farm was built in Kingston, Ontario in 2015. [9]

The most recent concentrated solar thermal power and storage technologies were barred from the FIT. The reason offered was that the technologies are not proven in Ontario climate.[ citation needed ]

The FIT program is intended for installations over 10 kW, while the microFIT program is to encourage the development of micro-scale renewable energy projects, such as residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The microFIT program provides a rate of $0.802/kWh for rooftop mounted solar panels. [10] On July 2, 2010 the microFIT's program rate (for ground-mounted systems only) was lowered to $0.642/kWh by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). [11] This new rate means consumers investing in solar energy through the Ontario microFIT Program will experience a drop in profit margin from a 25% range to 10%. [12] On April 5, 2012 the rate was reduced to $0.549/kWh. [13] The 2012 target is for 50 MW to be installed. [14] As of August 7, 2012, 9,764 applications for the FIT have been submitted, totaling 8,504 MW. 1,757 applications have been submitted for the microFIT program, totaling 16 MW. [15] Ontario plans to end coal generation by 2014. [16]

Ontario is expected to reach 2,650 MW of solar PV by 2015. [17] As of December 2016, Ontario's solar energy installations have the capability of generating 1,947 MW. [18]

Statistics

History of Canadian PV deployment in megawatts since 1996 [19]
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
PV capacity and generation in Canada by year [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
YearΣ Installed
(MWp)		Δ Installed
(MWp)		Generation
(GWh)
19920.96
19931.230.2
19941.510.3
19951.860.4
19962.560.7
19973.380.8
19984.471.1
19995.831.3
20007.151.4
20018.831.6
200210.001.2
200311.831.8
200413.882.1
200516.752.85
200620.483.75
200725.775.3
200832.726.9
200994.5761.87
2010281.13186.43
2011558.29297400
2012765.97268
20131,210.48444.51
20141,843.08632.60
20152,240397
20162,600360
20172,800200
20183,040240
20194,8441,804
20204,91470

See also

Related Research Articles

Solar power by country

Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:

Solar power in Australia Overview of solar power in Australia

Solar power in Australia is a fast growing industry. As of April 2022, Australia's over 3.12 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 26,093 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar power, of which at least 4,342 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 9.9% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2020.

Financial incentives for photovoltaics are incentives offered to electricity consumers to install and operate solar-electric generating systems, also known as photovoltaics (PV).

Solar power in the United Kingdom Overview of solar power in the United Kingdom

Solar power represented a very small part of electricity production in the United Kingdom until the 2010s when it increased rapidly, thanks to feed-in tariff (FIT) subsidies and the falling cost of photovoltaic (PV) panels.

A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers. This means promising renewable energy producers an above market price and providing price certainty and long-term contracts that help finance renewable energy investments. Typically, FITs award different prices to different sources of renewable energy in order to encourage development of one technology over another. For example, technologies such as wind power and solar PV are awarded a higher price per kWh than tidal power. FITs often include a "degression": a gradual decrease of the price or tariff in order to follow and encourage technological cost reductions.

Photovoltaic system Power system designed to supply usable electric power from solar energy

A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity, a solar inverter to convert the output from direct to alternating current, as well as mounting, cabling, and other electrical accessories to set up a working system. It may also use a solar tracking system to improve the system's overall performance and include an integrated battery.

Solar power in Japan

Solar power in Japan has been expanding since the late 1990s. The country is a major manufacturer and exporter of photovoltaics (PV) and a large installer of domestic PV systems, with most of them grid connected. Japan has a solar irradiance of about 4.3 to 4.8 kWh/(m2·day).

Growth of photovoltaics

Worldwide growth of photovoltaics has been close to exponential between 1992 and 2018. During this period of time, photovoltaics (PV), also known as solar PV, evolved from a niche market of small-scale applications to a mainstream electricity source.

The Green Energy Act (GEA), formally the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009, introduced in the Ontario legislature on February 23, 2009 and later repealed on January 1, 2019, was intended to expand renewable energy production, encourage energy conservation and create green jobs. Among many clauses, the GEA was best known for creating a number of feed-in tariff rates for different types of energy sources. Notable among these is the microFIT program for small non-commercial systems under 10 kilowatts, and FIT, the larger commercial version which covers a number of project types with sizes into the megawatts.

Solar power in Romania

Solar power in Romania had an installed capacity of 1,374 megawatt (MW) as of the end of 2017. The country had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.30 MW, which increased to 3.5 MW by the end of 2011, and to 6.5 MW by the end of 2012. However, the record year of 2013 was an exception, and new installation fell back from 1,100 MW to a moderate level of 69 MW in 2014.

Renewable energy in Canada Use of renewable resources in Canada

As of 2019, renewable energy technologies provide about 17.3% of Canada's total primary energy supply. For electricity renewables provide 67%, with 15% from nuclear and 18% from hydrocarbons.

Solar power in California Overview of solar power in the U.S. state of California

Solar power in California includes utility-scale solar power plants as well as local distributed generation, mostly from rooftop photovoltaics. It has been growing rapidly because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a Renewable Portfolio Standard which requires that 33% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2020, and 60% by 2030. Much of this is expected to come from solar power via photovoltaic facilities or concentrated solar power facilities.

Solar power in Arizona Overview of solar power in the U.S. state of Arizona

Solar power in Arizona has the potential to, according to then-Governor Janet Napolitano, make Arizona "the Persian Gulf of solar energy". In 2012, Arizona had 1,106 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems, and 6 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), bringing the total to over 1,112 megawatts (MW) of solar power. As an example, the Solana Generating Station, a 280 MW parabolic trough solar plant, when commissioned in 2013, was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.

Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant Photovoltaic power station in Ontario, Canada

Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant near Sarnia, Ontario, is Canada's largest photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 97 MWP (80 MWAC).

Rooftop solar power

A rooftop solar power system, or rooftop PV system, is a photovoltaic (PV) system that has its electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. The various components of such a system include photovoltaic modules, mounting systems, cables, solar inverters and other electrical accessories.

Photovoltaic power station Large-scale photovoltaic system

A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are differentiated from most building-mounted and other decentralised solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. The generic expression utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.

Solar power in Austria

As of the end of 2014, solar power in Austria amounted to 766 megawatt (MW) of cumulative photovoltaic (PV) capacity, of which more than three quarters were installed within the last four years. Solar PV generated 766 gigawatt-hours, or about 1.4% of the country's final electricity consumption. As with most other European countries, 99.5 percent of all solar power systems are connected to the electrical grid. The nation's installed PV capacity by inhabitant stood at 91 watts, still below the European Union's 2014-average of 172 watts.

Solar power in Mexico Overview of solar power in Mexico

Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m2/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert could supply all of Mexico's electricity.

Solar power in Massachusetts Overview of solar power in the U.S. state of Massachusetts

Solar power in Massachusetts has been increasing rapidly, due to Section 1603 grants for installations that began before December 31, 2011, and the sale of SRECs for $0.30/kWh, which allows payback for the system within 5 or 6 years, and generates income for the life of the system. For systems installed after December 31, 2011, and before December 31, 2016, the 30% tax grant becomes a 30% tax credit. There has been an appeal to the Congress to extend the 1603 program, the grant program, for an additional year.

Solar power in Georgia on rooftops can provide 31% of all electricity used in Georgia.

References

  1. ↑ "Global Solar Atlas". globalsolaratlas.info. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  2. ↑ "Canadian Solar Energy Resource Maps 2019". energyhub.org. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Photovoltaic and solar resource maps". www.nrcan.gc.ca. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/pdf/0484(2016).pdf pg90
  5. ↑ "NEB – Chapter 3. Reference and High/Low Price Case Results". 17 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Large-scale photovoltaic power plants ranking 1 - 50". pvresources.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Enbridge completes Sarnia solar farm". CBC News. 4 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "EDF Commissions 23.4-MW Arnprior Solar Plant". www.renewableenergyworld.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  9. ↑ samsungrenewableenergy.ca. "Kingston". Samsung Renewable Energy. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "microFIT News and Overview". microfit.powerauthority.on.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ontario Power Authority Cuts Solar Rates". CBC News. 16 July 2010.
  12. ↑ "Ontario microFIT Program - Ottawa Solar Power". 8 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "microFIT News and Overview" (PDF). microfit.powerauthority.on.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "microFIT News and Overview". microfit.powerauthority.on.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "FIT Overview" (PDF). fit.powerauthority.on.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Ministry of Energy » Ontario's Electricity System". www.energy.gov.on.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  17. ↑ Paul Gipe (23 March 2011). "Ontario's //Solar PV Installations May Surpass California in 2011". Renewable Energy World.
  18. ↑ "Supply Overview - IESO". 17 May 2017.
  19. ↑ collected data from article growth of photovoltaics
  20. ↑ "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013-2017" (PDF). epia.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Canada 2014". iea-pvps.org. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  22. ↑ Renewable energy facts | Natural Resources Canada
  23. ↑ "Data and Statistics - IRENA REsource". resourceirena.irena.org. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  24. ↑ Solar Power Statistics in Canada 2019
  25. ↑ "Forecast: The future is bright for renewable energy in Canada". January 19, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
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