By Roy L Hales

There are slow pockets, but most of British Columbia’s solar contractors are busier than ever before. Riverside Energy Systems, in Kamloops, is finding it difficult to keep up. Rob Baxter, of Vancouver Renewable Energy Co-operative, thinks we may have reached a tipping point, “more people want to support solar energy.” Alevtina Akbulatova, Net Metering Specialist with BC Hydro, said 90 projects were connected to the grid during 2014. She added, “There are already 99 this year and I could approve a few more by the end of the day.” Add in the 1 megawatt of capacity from SunMine, the province’s first utility scale solar project, and BC’s Solar capacity Is doubling.

BC’s Solar Capacity Is Doubling

“There has been a lot of interest. I personally think we could have 250 systems connected this year,” said Akbulatova.

That is speculation, of course, but BC had 1.7 MW of solar capacity at the end of 2014 and now there is 3.2 MW. If this pace continues, there could easily be more than 4 MW.

BC Hydro has applied to have the net metering program expanded so that it can be used by homeowners who lease their systems from third parties.

Akbulatova said that in addition to homeowners, there are also municipalities interested in putting panels on town halls and public works and “a lot of interest in community solar right now.”

There has also been talk about additional utility scale projects, though Akbulatova has yet to see any new applications.

SunMine’s grand opening is July 27, but the project is already feeding electricity to the grid. Thanks to its lofty elevation, and +300 days of sun a year, British Columbia’s first utility project is expected to have a solar yield similar to California’s.

People Are More Curious

“People are more curious about sustainable and green energy,” said Gary Chen, of Amray Solar. He still meets people who need to be told about the benefits solar can bring to Vancouver, but is also,  “encouraged with some green-minded people who have jumped in with great concerns for the environment and lead the market going forward.”

Kuan-Jian Foo, of Viridan energy Co-operative on Vancouver Island, explains this as a combination of the “decrease in cost of PV and we are able to show positive return on investment. There is a lot more awareness and interest in general as well.”

He added, ” We just completed 3 houses in a row in Cowichan Bay. We had one customer and once the neighbours saw it they jumped on doing it, then a third neighbour also decided to invest in solar. A fourth neighbour may also be getting solar. So solar is really picking up and people are seeing it and it makes sense to them.”

Ben Guidici, of Riverside Energy, had another explanation, “People are starting to notice that electricity rates are rising very rapidly in the last couple of years. They are concerned about what rates might do in the future, especially since BC Hydro has been given approval to go ahead with Site C. A lot of people are concerned that rates are poised to hike steeply.”

Greater Victoria

James Smyth, of CamoSun Solar Thermal, said the cost of Site C works out to around $4,500 for every homeowner in BC. He thinks the money would be better spent on solar, or renewable, programs.

The solar thermal business has slowed down in the Greater Victoria since local incentives expired. CamoSun’s customer’s used to get a $3,000 grant.  Many of the people who missed out are reluctant to pay more now, but Smyth does not think the grant will come back soon. He is making more PV solar installations.

Vancouver’s Permitting Process

Rob Baxter expects to do twice as much business this year. He says the city of Vancouver’s permitting process “is slowing the uptake amongst home owners, but it is not totally stopping uptake and it is not affecting larger commercial systems.”

Gary Chen is also concerned about the cost of doing business in BC’s largest city, “Our installation permit is 6 times higher than Toronto. That’s why we encourage our colleagues, friends and whoever concerns about environment to participate this petition: http://www.spec.bc.ca/SolarBP.”.

He suggested that for solar to really take off, the industry needs the kind of incentives and support that is available in Germany, Japan, the USA or Toronto.

Its Going To Boom

Kuan-Jian Foo believes it is already starting, “Its going to boom and we will likely see a lot of rooftop solar but also larger cooperative community owned projects.”