Originally published in Interior Wellness Magazine, Summer 2014.
Solar electricity, or PV (short for photovoltaics) is a viable renewable energy source for Kamloops and the BC Interior here and now!
Our solar resource in Kamloops is greater than many other parts of Canada and Europe. Solar PV prices have now dropped to a level that payback for a system can be realized in 10 to 15 years depending on system size, southern exposure and utility price increases. Both major utility companies have adopted a two-tiered rate schedule and price increases that have long been held back, have started. It now makes financial sense to include or plan for solar in all your renovation and building plans.
Isn’t renewable energy too intermittent to provide large-scale Grid power?
Actually, no. Europeans and Americans have successfully turned to renewable energy despite having more technical challenges to do so than BC. In Europe and California, outgoing power from fossil- and nuclear fuel plants must be adjusted to allow for the variable input of renewable energy sources, unlike BC where our large hydro dam system gives us more flexibility. The patterns of our water levels and high resource times from renewables sync well, aiding this integration. [Also, we now have a rapidly growing battery market that will continue to make integration easier].
To see the impact of solar and other renewable-generated power, we can look at the US and Europe. In 2012, PV generated approximately 5.3 percent of Germany’s total net power consumed. PV and all other renewable energy combined in Germany in 2012 provided almost 29 percent of total net power consumed. Last November, Denmark reached a daily high of 122% of its power being provided by wind energy. Germany had a high of wind power as well the same day and yet their integrated grid functioned well. Record amounts of renewable energy continue to be made each year in both countries. In California this March, PV hit several highs of providing up to 18 percent of daily demand. [Of course, these numbers are all higher now, as the affordability of renewables worldwide has only come down since this writing and uptake has continued to increase. More on this in another blog entry!]
The benefits to building more solar PV into the provincial power grid go far beyond the financial. Installing residential and commercial-scale grid-tied PV and other renewable energy generation helps our community by creating local economic development, enhancing security and building long term societal benefits. It helps the environment, displacing coal and gas generation and causing less need for new hydro development. It helps the utility, creating increased generation capacity, resiliency against peak demand and can yield savings in transmission and distribution costs.
BC currently enjoys one of North America’s lowest rates for electricity and this partly explains why we have not seen more widespread use of PV. But Grid Parity is here, now. Do the math and consider – does your granite countertop or other esthetic item give you a better return on investment while at the same time help save the planet? PV does both, even now at current utility rates.
As part of a continent-wide grid, the more we green our grid, the more we assist other jurisdictions to green theirs by selling them our greener power. Our grid is already one of the greenest in the world. By adding grid-tied solar and other renewable energy, it becomes potentially the greenest and resilient in the world.~