On Saturday, September 16th we celebrated a year of solar with our partners, Balnar Management, at 104 Dawson Road in Guelph.
It was a beautiful day to be outside (and a fantastic sunny day for generating electricity from solar power!) Guests enjoyed the BBQ courtesy of Wildfire Cuisine and learned about the components of the system and got to see what production looks like in real-time. Staff from solar developer Vigor Clean Tech were on hand to answer any questions about how solar power works.
Thank You Balnar Management
In addition to an opportunity to show off the system, this event was about celebrating the leadership of Balnar Management. Mike Balnar and his team believe that renewable energy is important in maintaining the long-term sustainability of their buildings. It took a great deal of foresight for them to partner with a small renewable energy co-operative to develop systems on some of their buildings, and their efforts to go green have not been half measures. Thank you to Mike for being a strong community leader, setting an example for others, and showing this community that it is possible for our businesses and organizations to make progress on a healthier environment for our future generations.
Government Support for Solar
Our official ribbon cutting that afternoon also included representatives from all three levels of government. Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield, Guelph MPP Liz Sandals, and Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie were in attendance. It was wonderful to thank them for the continued support for renewable energy from governments at the local, provincial, and national level.
The City of Guelph, and Guelph Hydro Electric Systems were great partners in providing supportive council resolutions, site access, and permits. They went the extra mile to accommodate the connection of this project to the local grid.
Provincially, the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program helped get solar off the ground in Ontario. The project at 104 Dawson has a 20 year FIT contract to generate clean, green energy. In return we are paid $0.316/kWh we generate – revenue that creates the profitable returns for CED Co-op investors.
The Impact of Our Systems
The system at 104 Dawson Road in Guelph has already generated enough electricity to power 26 homes for one year. It has saved over 100,000 kg of CO2, and we’re just getting started. Over the life of the system, the 900 panels on the roof will generate 10 million kWh of energy. That’s the equivalent of more than 5,000 barrels of oil.
Many thanks to Mike Balnar and his team at Balnar Management. We are pleased to partner with environmentally conscious members of the business community – you make these projects possible!
