Renewable Energy for Businesses

Half of Canadian small business owners have or are considering implementing a green plan or environmental policies for their business, according to an RBC small business survey conducted by Ipsos Reid in February 2010. Sixty-three per cent of small businesses that already have a plan or policies in place are more likely to concentrate on reducing energy and 31% of those who are considering a green plan are more likely to focus the plan on environmental standards and 55% on supply reduction.

Making environmental sustainability a priority is on the top of the minds of many business owners. Going green helps companies build goodwill with customers, employees, shareholders and the general public and also helps save on operating costs.

Renewable energy for business can make a lot of sense as businesses tend to have large roofs or available land and resources to start renewable energy projects. Many rebates and incentives exist for businesses that want to go green. Below is a list of some renewable energy rebates offered to businesses and links for greening your business. The focus of the HERE! Project is to help individuals lower their environmental footprint by installing renewable energy system. HERE! does not have the resources to help with the FIT process because of the complexity of the process, including legal and financial issues, but general inquiries can be directed at here.office@gmail.com or 905-299-2327.

Before undertaking any renewable energy installation, business owners are encouraged to look at the Natural Resources Canada website to find resources for energy efficiency: www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/commercial.

Solar Photovoltaic

FIT program

• Under this program you will be paid a guaranteed price over a 20-year term for all the electricity you produce and deliver to the province’s electricity grid.
• For PV systems under 10 KW, the feed-in-tariff price is 80.2 cents/KWh. For more information on these smaller systems, please visit the Photovoltaic Systems page.
• FIT is designed for systems larger than 10 KW. A lower per- kilowatt-hour rate applies and the rate decreases the larger the system gets. For more information on rates, visit http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/
• The FIT application is much longer and more complicated than the microFIT application and may require environmental studies, engineering reports, feasibility studies, permits, etc.
• Under FIT, your system is fully connected to the grid, and your system will go down if there is a power outage. Your project must meet domestic content requirements. These requirements ensure that a portion of your solar PV project is manufactured or produced in Ontario. The minimum required amount of Ontario-based content will increase over time and is determined by the year that a project reaches commercial operation. For solar (PV) Projects with a Contract Capacity greater than 10 kW, the Minimum Required Domestic Content Level is 50% for FIT Contracts that have a Milestone Date for Commercial Operation prior to January 1, 2011 and 60% for FIT Contracts that have a Milestone Date For Commercial Operation on or after January 1st, 2011.

Simplified Economic Example – commercial system:

Consider a 246 KW flat roof mount PV system:

• System Cost: Approx. $1,828,500
• Produces Approx. 282,900 KWh per year @ 71.3¢ = Approx. $206,800 per year
• 30,000 to 40,000 square feet required for installation
• Payback in 8.8 years
• Offsets 96,000 kg of carbon dioxide per year

[back to top]

Solar Thermal and Geothermal

• Businesses can receive rebates from the Federal ecoENERGY program, which provides financial incentives to install solar air and water heating systems on commercial and institutional buildings. The last date to submit an application for a rebate is October 1, 2010; system commissioning must be completed by December 31, 2010. Visit the ecoENERGY for renewable heat program website for details: www.ecoaction.gc.ca/heat
  
• For more information on these types of systems, please visit the Solar Thermal Systems page or the Geothermal Systems page.

[back to top]