Solvation Projects Generating Power

Three major solar projects have started generating power.

Solvation-F, Solvation-V, and Solvation-VF are large-scale ground-mounted solar systems located in the town of Blind River, outside of Sudbury. These systems are big! Solvation-F, the smallest of the three, is a 330kW solar system. For comparison, the solar systems you see on houses in your neighbourhood are in the tens of kilowatts, not hundreds.

All together the three systems have 199 solar trackers that follow the sun. By moving the solar panels throughout the day to collect the most sunlight, solar trackers can be much more efficient than the fixed systems installed on roofs. Trackers like this can produce 40% more electricity and revenue than a stationary system.

The Solvation systems have already generated over 264MWh of energy – equivalent to powering 802,965 lightbulbs for a day, or planting 346 trees! In addition to generating strong financial returns for our members, each project CED Co-op takes on is contributing to a cleaner, greener Ontario. These three solar systems have saved over 103,000 kg of CO2 from entering our atmosphere. That’s like taking 38 cars off the road, or powering 25 homes for one year.

We are celebrating these achievements now, when the solar systems have first come online, but the best part about solar energy is that we will keep producing electricity without any more input of fuel. As amazing as these numbers are, they will just keep going up without added investment from us. Think about how different this is from fossil fuels, where in order to get more energy you need to keep extracting and burning resources. Solar makes sense!

Community Energy Development Co-operative is acquiring 100% of the Solvation projects. This means all revenue will benefit our members, while the electricity helps power a greener Ontario. The electricity from these systems flows into the Ontario energy grid and we get paid for producing it – just like any other power plant. Next time you turn on your lights, that power may have come from CED Co-op and our solar systems.

Interested in learning more? See the power these projects are generating in real-time on our Projects page, or take a look for them the next time you’re driving through Blind River. If you want to support renewable energy in Ontario, sign up to become a CED Co-op member, then stay tuned for the next round of investment.