Belleville still interested in solar energy after provincial government said it will pay less

By Tyson Leonard

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (04/05/2012) Devin Gilmour, the assistant harbour supervisor, stands infront of Meyer's Pier where the City installed 46 photo voltaic panels in 2011. Photo by Tyson Leonard.

The city of Belleville is looking into developing more solar projects despite the Ontario government’s recent announcement they will be paying less for solar energy.

Joel Carr-Braint, Belleville’s property manager, said he is happy with the current projects and the city is looking at the possibility of developing a few more.

“We’re looking at three types (of solar power),” said Carr-Braint.

One of those types is another solar farm like the one recently installed at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.

“We are looking at another solar farm, hopefully in the next year or so. We have to identify a location that is suitable,” said Carr-Braint.

Over the past three years the City of Belleville has taken full advantage of the Ontario Green Energy Act. The 2,132-panel solar farm on the rooftop of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre is the latest and biggest of Belleville’s projects.

The project is expected to generate $350,000 to $400,000 a year. This means Belleville should start seeing the investment pay off in eight years.

Belleville also owns three other solar projects. They are located at Meyers Pier, the Transit Terminal, and Pinnacle Street.

Every project except Pinnacle Street has its own public live feed on the city of Belleville website. The feeds display information such as the total amount of power generated, current energy being generated, and the total CO2 offset measured in trees.

The four projects came at the right time for Belleville. The Ontario government just recently announced they would be paying less for future solar power projects. Belleville’s current projects are locked in at the old rates though.

Ontario decreased the price at which they are going to be buying solar power energy from projects by 32%.

Until the recent decision, Ontario bought solar energy at a max rate of 80.2 cents per kwh. Changes to Ontario’s renewable energy strategy have lowered the max amount paid to 54.9 cents per kwh for future projects. Large-scale projects will receive between 34.7 cents and 44.5 cents per kwh, down from 63.5 cents.

The cost for energy sources like wind and solar is substantially higher than other energy sources like nuclear and hydroelectric.

The announcement isn’t deterring Belleville though.

Carr-Braint still thinks there is money to be made with solar power.

“When solar projects originally started it was fairly new and therefore the costs were fairly high,” he said.

The original budget of the wellness centre solar project was $5.1 million. The total cost after it was completed was $3.2 million.

“The cost of the project has gone down significantly with mass production, so the rate of payback is almost the same,” said Carr-Braint.

According to the city’s website Belleville’s first solar project was installed in 2009, the same year the Ontario government introduced the Green Energy Act.