This North Van home owner may soon be getting more for the solar power he sells to BC Hydro

BC Hydro has applied to raise the rate paid for electricity generated under the net-metering program.  This means that owners of solar photovoltaic, wind or micro-hydro energy systems will receive more for the excess energy they produce.   Under the proposal rates will rise from 8.16 to 9.99 cents per kWh.

It is important to understand that this amount is just applied to the net excess annual amount of electricity generated above what is consumed.  For typical systems most of the power generated is offsetting electricity at the rate paid to BC Hydro.  Thus the net-metering program does not offer the benefits of dual-meeting programs such as the Ontario FIT program.  The Ontario program also pays significantly higher rates.

In the BC Hydro application to the BC Utilities Commission they have also asked to reduce the paperwork requirements for the net-metering program.

If you would like to learn more about how you can participate in the program and help add clean power to the grid please contact us.  Over the past seven years we have helped dozens of customers install systems under the BC Hydro net-metering program.

We have special pricing on select Mitsubishi Solar Photovoltaic panels until the end of the month. Pricing starts at $2.61 / watt (plus shipping and HST) for these premium highly rated modules. Subject to minimum ordering requirements.

For more general PV panel pricing, please refer to PV panel sales page.

And as always we offer our experienced installation crew to help you put these panels to use.

B&B PV

The Princess and the Pea Bed and Breakfest in Langley yesterday reached the milestone of 1 MWh of clean energy being exported to the BC Hydro grid.  VREC installed the solar photovoltaic system that utilizes Day4 Energy panels three years ago.

Here is the press release from Princess and the Pea:

Langley BC
May 5, 2011

Today is a milestone day at Princess and the Pea

Sometime today we will have passed the 1 Megawatt hours of electricity that we have exported to “the grid”

That is one million watt hours of electricity

Over the past 3 years we have generated 4.418 1 Megawatt hours of electricity

You can see that we use on site just over 75% of the power we generate. The rest we export.

There are some days when we produce from our very modest solar power installation 100% of our own consumption.

Meter photo taken at 9 AM May 5 2011 (shows the export of power in kilowatt hours)

This is a remarkable achievement and is a model for all BC.

Princess and the Pea
21628 48 Ave
Langley BC
Wally Martin
604.533.5569

Photo credit: S Wong

VREC helped facilitate the installation of the first solar photovoltaic (electric) grid-tie system in the city of New Westminster.

Most of BC is serviced by BC Hydro.  BC Hydro has allowed solar photovoltaic connections to its grid for seven years now.  But the City of New Westminster has it’s own utility which did not have a formal policy for connecting solar energy systems to the grid.

Our customer and his electrician did most of the installation.   We supplied all the equipment (including the Day4 Energy panels) and provided consulting services to help them finish the install.  After reviewing the installation the City of New West decided to allow the connection to the grid.

Here in BC we have been seeing some benefits from Ontario’s FIT program.  We don’t have the great incentives that they have to install solar,  but as manufactures start to set up in Ontario it is getting easier and cheaper to purchase their products even here on the west coast.

Right now warehouses are being cleared out to make room for new panels.  That means that there are some great deals on solar photovoltaic modules.   For example, 180 W panels are as low at $466 each (plus shipping and HST).  That works out to $2.59 per watt.

Supplies are limited and the sale does end the last day of March.  Please contact us if you would like to take advantage of these deals.

VREC is happy to announce the completion of its first dual system installation.  We successfully completed the installation of both a solar hot water system, as well as a photovoltaic system on a residential home in North Vancouver.  The home was being renovated and the owners were looking for efficient clean energy and fuel savings.

The solar hot water system is an Enerworks one collector solar pre-heat system. The PV system used SunTech panels with Enphase Micro-Inverters.  This particular site has some large shading during some parts of the day and the Enphase micro-inverters allowed the system to get the more power under these conditions.  This was our first install with Enphase inverters.

As part of the extensive renovations the home was pre-wired and pre-plumbed for the solar energy systems.  This helped reduce the installation costs.

The screen-shot below captures energy production for one week from the photovoltaic system.

VREC recently completed the installation of a solar photovoltaic energy system on a residence in Point Grey.  The 2.6 kW system will be supply electrical power for the home and any excess  power will be fed to the grid.

PV on Point Grey Residence

YZQHJR2A8G84

SPEC and VREC will be sponsoring monthly solar tours this summer. Come and learn about different types solar energy systems and how they can be the solution you are looking for!

The SPEC Building boasts three installations of active solar technology:  solar hot water, solar space heater and PV panels.  VREC was an installer on two of these projects.  If you are interested in learning about renewable energy, getting specific questions answered or simply want to see what they look like, contact SPEC to book a tour time 604-736-7732 or admin@spec.bc.ca.

It is all happening at the SPEC building, 2150 Maple Street in Vancouver.  The next tour dates are June 24th and July 12th.

spec tour

Today and tomorrow are BC Solar Days.  VREC will be joining with SPEC to celebrate tomorrow from 1-4 PM.  We will be giving tours of the solar systems on the SPEC building including the photovoltaic and solar hot air systems we installed.  As well, our portable solar power system will be powering a band performing at the site.

It is all happening at the SPEC building, 2150 Maple Street in Vancouver.

With the looming HST now is time to look at buying a solar energy system.  Currently both solar photovoltaic (electric) and solar hot water systems are exempt from provincial sales tax.  But that will change July 1st with the introduction of the HST.  So that means an effective 7% increase in the price of these systems for consumers.

In addition to the tax exemption, prices on photovoltaic panels have fallen dramatically over the last couple of years and are at their lowest ever.  The high Canadian dollar has also meant that we are paying less for panels here in Canada.

There are also some good reasons to purchase Solar Hot Water systems.  There are currently over $2,000 in incentives available.

Contact us to learn more about how to take advantage of these savings.