Solar panels on Regional Operations Centre generating power and revenue

The Region of Waterloo has completed the installation of solar panels on its Operations Centre on Maple Grove Road in Cambridge and is generating power back into the grid.

The 806-panel 170 kW system was installed earlier this year and has now achieved commercial operation. The Region is to be paid revenue through the Ontario Power Authority Feed-in Tariff program retroactive to May 1, 2011. The system is intended to reduce the Region’s electrical load on the provincial distribution system by generating approximately 10 per cent of the Operations Centre’s electricity consumption.

“This is an exciting and innovative project for the Region that is intended to feed solar energy back into the provincial grid and lessen our overall impact on the environment,” said Ken Seiling, Regional Chair.  “The project will also provide an attractive financial return to the Region.”

The annual power generation for the system is estimated to be 195,000 kWh of electricity and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 tonnes per year. The estimated annual net revenue is $115,000.

The solar panel installation at the Operations Centre is part of a larger renewable energy initiative. The initiative aims to install solar panels on 25 Regional facilities across the region with a target capacity of 2.2 MW. The estimated net revenue for the 20-year Ontario Power Authority agreement is $4.774 million.

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For more information, contact Gary Sosnoski at 519-575-4460 or gsosnoski@regionofwaterloo.ca