Loblaw says its $10-million, 7.5-megawatt roof solar job - anticipated to be completed in 2026 - at its distribution centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., will be the country's largest.Supplied/ Loblaw Cos.
Ltd. Large-scale rooftop solar tasks have yet to get prevalent traction with Canadian designers.
Financing can be complicated and it can take time for designers to get returns on their financial investments, but new solar tasks are still being revealed, states Victoria Papp, senior director of strategy and development at BOMA Canada, a group representing Canadian building owners and managers.
" Solar uptake in business genuine estate is still far from being an extensive practice throughout the market, but it's definitely increasing," Ms. Papp says. "It can be challenging to retrofit structures that were never ever designed with solar panels in mind."
This month, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association stated it's tracked more than $31-billion in financial investment in renewable resource - such as solar and wind power sources - across the nation. A just recently released report likewise found Canada's solar, wind and energy storage sectors have grown by 46 per cent over the previous five years, with 10,000 megawatts of brand-new capability anticipated to be linked by 2030.
As a comparison, nearly 6,500 megawatts of solar energy - enough to power as numerous as two-million homes - was created in Canada in 2022, according to the federal government.
Scaling solar across Canada
While national investment figures highlight solar's growing function in Canada's energy mix, some companies are taking the lead in scaling up jobs of their own.
In late July, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. revealed it's constructing what it says will be Canada's largest rooftop solar system setup at its brand-new distribution centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., north of Toronto.
The $10-million, 7.5-megawatt job, expected to be finished in 2026, will cover the building's roof with nearly 435,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels - about the size of 7 football fields. It's anticipated to produce 8.5-million kilowatt-hours a year, about a quarter of the requirements of Loblaw's automatic circulation centre.
" The building itself is really energy-intensive due to the automation and refrigeration systems within," says Tom Marson, Loblaw's vice-president of building technology and energy. "The solar panel system will help us balance out energy usage in the building."
Great Circle Solar Management Corp. will be the home builder, owner and operator of the job and sell the power to Loblaw under a long-term contract. The project is the biggest of almost 60 roof solar initiatives in which the two companies have actually partnered in the past ten years.
" Power from the solar panel system on the roofing is fed straight into the electrical spaces of the center and utilized to straight power the site's operations in East Gwillimbury," says Clarke Herring, Great Circle Solar's CEO.
Meeting corporate climate targets
Commercial distribution centres are not the only types of residential or commercial properties setting up large-scale solar tasks. In Waterloo, Ont., Conestoga College set up a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon campus. The system, which went live in 2023, generates about 1.6-million kwh of sustainable, tidy energy a year, enough to power a minimum of 40,000 homes.
The system, which spreads more than 3,000 photovoltaic panels over the roofings of a number of structures, helps Conestoga meet 15 per cent of its annual electricity requirements and balance out peak need from the traditional grid by 57 percent.
" We're dedicated at Conestoga to supporting Canada's tidy development and climate-change objectives for a more sustainable future," states Tim Schill, the college's vice-president of facilities and capital advancement. "This job is a considerable advance in assisting minimize [greenhouse gas] emissions and promoting sustainable stewardship of our environment and resources."
Ontario's Conestoga College has set up a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon school that creates about 1.6-million kilowatt hours of eco-friendly, tidy energy a year.Supplied/ Conestoga College
Loblaw says among the reasons for setting up photovoltaic panels at its circulation centre is to help fulfill the business's net-zero emissions reduction targets.
" We're intending to achieve net zero for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040," Mr. Marson states. Scope 1 emissions are produced directly from sources owned or managed by a company, while Scope 2 emissions account for those produced from the generation of purchased electrical power that's taken in by the business or company.
" Procuring and consuming renewable energy on residential or commercial properties where high quantities of energy is taken in is a vital action for us," Mr. Marson says, adding it's particularly essential for Loblaw, because the business engages with consumers daily.
" We run thousands of stores all across the nation, which implies we are deeply woven into the fabric of the communities we serve," he says. "Millions of everyday customers and our 220,000 coworkers and staff members anticipate us to lead."
According to Mr. Marson, Loblaw initially set carbon reduction targets for its corporate stores in 2016, and it fulfilled those years ahead of schedule. "We reset our standard in 2020, and included franchise shops and Shoppers Drug Mart areas. Since then, we've decreased our carbon footprint 16 percent and continue to make significant progress."
Finding the ideal funding
Mr. Schill says developing little and medium-sized solar jobs, such as Conestoga's, can be tough since of troubles protecting funding, as well as shifting regulations and incentive programs.
" Until just recently, it was easier to get beneficial government-backed financing if you had a $100-million task," he states. The relocation by Prime Minister Mark Carney to ditch the unpopular federal carbon tax was an obstacle since the tax had actually made utilizing natural gas more pricey and solar energy more appealing, he includes.
Mr. Schill is motivated by current relocations such as the new $100-million partnership between the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Scotiabank, which aims to assist owners retrofit little and mid-sized business buildings.
Ali Hoss, head of sustainability and ESG at Colliers Canada, says the country can take advantage of moves in the United States to discontinue solar-power rewards.
" Investors in the U.S. should now price-in high political risk," he states. "Canada, by contrast, has broad, multi-party support for sustainability. This predictability is a crucial benefit for bring in the long-lasting, patient capital required for real estate and infrastructure jobs like solar."
Great Circle Solar's Mr. Herring concurs. "Going solar provides an essential long-term fiscal hedge against unsure future electricity costs."
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