New solar farm can provide power for 1,000 homes

October 14, 2009

Tyler Hamilton

Michelle Chislett, a Skypower vice-president, Jason Gray, of SunEdison and Michael Henderson, construction manager, show off solar first in Napanee.

WAYNE HIEBERT FOR THE TORONTO STAR

STONE MILLS, Ont.–Construction manager Michael Henderson beams with pride as he gazes out at a black sea of 126,040 solar panels, each resting majestically against 36 hectares of south-sloping terrain.

Canada's largest solar generating station, called First Light, made history on Sept. 26, when at 10:16 a.m. it became the first multi-megawatt solar farm in the country to connect to the electricity system. First Light covers an area large enough to fit nine Rogers Centres and convert enough sun rays each year to power 1,000 homes cleanly.

At 9.1 megawatts, and woven together with more than a million feet of electrical wire, it's also the third-largest solar farm in North America to turn sunlight directly into electricity.

Henderson, who led the construction effort for solar power developer SunEdison Canada and its joint venture partner, SkyPower Corp. of Toronto, said the project had its challenges.

The land was uneven, rocky and covered in shrubs; installation took place in an unusually wet season that submerged the work area in water and mud.

Efforts were made not to disturb the habitat of the eastern loggerhead shrike, a highly endangered songbird that feeds on mice and grasshoppers on the sprawling lot, next to the Goodyear tire plant in Napanee. "The site conditions were the worst I've seen in 25 years," said Henderson. "But for all the trades, all the guys involved with this, it was a badge of honour to work it."

This is the changing face of Ontario's electricity system, where high-polluting coal power is phased out and clean energy is enthusiastically embraced as the replacement for dirty sources. Many consider it a noble direction to take in an era of climate anxiety. But critics point out it won't come cheap.

SunEdison and SkyPower will get 42 cents for every kilowatt-hour of solar electricity they sell to the province, or seven times more than what we are used to paying on our monthly power bill. A new program launched this month will pay up to 80.2 cents for homeowners and businesses that install "micro" solar-power systems on rooftops.

The McGuinty government, engaged in a kind of green-energy balancing act, is betting the investment will pay off. The trick is to support enough solar development to lure foreign investors, stimulate local manufacturing and create jobs, but control costs by keeping solar relatively small in the mix of hydro, nuclear and wind power.

Assuming another 100 projects the size of First Light are added to the grid – nearly 1,000 megawatts – it would add only 0.4 cents per kilowatt-hour to the average cost of electricity in Ontario. If another 1,000 megawatts of rooftop solar were added, even at 80.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, it would add just 0.8 cents to what we see on our bills.

Solar advocates note most of the power we get from the sun comes when we need it most, during the summer when air conditioners are blasting and high-cost electricity tends to come from natural gas "peaker" plants. So, they argue, Ontario can become a North American solar leader without burning a gaping hole in the wallets of ratepayers.

In reality, Ontario is just getting started in a market where jurisdictional bragging rights change daily. First Light, as big as it is, won't retain its ranking for very long. Later this month, Florida Power & Light will flick the switch on a 25-megawatt solar plant, giving the U.S. utility top ranking on the continent, bumping First Light down a notch.

Ontario competition is also nipping at First Light's heels. The Canadian subsidiary of French developer EDF Energies Nouvelles Co. is building a 23.4-megawatt solar park in Arnprior, west of Ottawa. EDF expects to have more than 20 megawatts of that project connected to the grid by Dec. 31, installing more than 300,000 sun-worshipping panels 65 hectares.

Near Sarnia, natural gas giant Enbridge Inc. recently bought two 10-megawatt solar farms from California panel maker First Solar. Connected by year-end, adding another 20 megawatts of solar to the grid.

Not to be outdone, SunEdison and SkyPower will soon expand First Light, adding another 7.8 megawatts in a second phase and 10 megawatts in a third phase. Developers across the province have dozens more projects in the pipeline.

However, companies must grapple with new land restrictions and local content rules. Last month, Ontario said large utility-scale solar projects could no longer be developed on Class 1 and 2 prime agricultural lands, and Class 3 lands only used under certain conditions.

Such farmland, ideal for growing crops, comes at a premium but is easier and less costly to build on. It also gets better sun exposure.

New regulations require that Ontario labour and technology make up at least half the content of all new utility-scale solar developments. On Jan. 1, 2011, that threshold jumps up to 60 per cent.

Still, rich incentives may prove too alluring for an industry that just three years ago never gave Ontario serious consideration.