Solar panels are expected to provide one third of the electricity demand at Richmond’s newest fire hall and swimming pool at Minoru Park.
The use of solar panels are an example of the City of Richmond inching forward with a plan to incorporate solar energy technology into new infrastructure as it becomes cheaper.
The $22-million Brighouse Firehall No. 1 and the $80-million Minoru Complex building — which will house two 25-metre pools and an older adults centre — are presently under construction and scheduled to open in spring 2017 and late 2017, respectively. The city hopes to achieve LEED Gold energy efficiency standards.
Details of the solar panel installations were revealed in a staff report to city council titled Solar Friendly Richmond Framework.
“The costs of solar PV (photovoltaic) modules has decreased markedly, resulting in a trend of reduced costs for installing PV on buildings,” noted the report from the city’s director of engineering, John Irving.
Presently, one of the biggest obstacles to solar panel use in B.C. is financial viability. Not only does the solar industry lack economies of scale, hydroelectricity is some of the cheapest in North America.
According to the report, installing a typical 5kW solar panel system on a home will cost $18,000, whereas a similar panel is one-third cheaper in a country such as Germany, which has achieved “grid parity,” meaning the investment is financially viable given the lower costs of panels and higher energy costs (coal and nuclear).
Presently, for those with solar panels, BC Hydro offers its net metering program, whereby excess energy is sold back to the power grid.
Various business models for residential installations are being advanced, such as companies leasing or renting panels to users and sharing in the savings.
The report noted the city is looking at ways to encourage solar panel installations on residential units, as doing so will be key to meeting its goal, set in 2014, of reducing community (city-wide) greenhouse gas emissions 33 per cent below 2007 levels by 2020 (although the city states this goal is subject to necessary action by higher governments).
The city may explore facilitating a community bulk purchasing program and “enhanced” permit and zoning bylaw provisions to incentivize solar panel installations in the future.
As prices decline, the city will be looking to increase its own solar panel installations, noted Irving.
Coun. Harold Steves, a vocal proponent of solar panel use, said he objects to the province’s decision to flood the Peace River Valley’s farmland for the Site C Dam because it wouldn’t be necessary, in part, if solar panels were used widely across Metro Vancouver.
