Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances is considering putting solar panels atop several buildings to generate electricity to sell back to the grid, but several members of council are voicing concerns about the proposed venture.
At a budget meeting Monday afternoon, council received a report from sustainability co-ordinator Travis Rob recommending that rooftop-mounted solar panel projects be completed on the Public Works garage, Memorial Sports Centre, Children’s Complex, water treatment plant, and the Civic Centre.
It would cost the town an initial $453,500 to do the five projects, after which time the solar panels are projected to generate $60,756 per year in revenue—or $761,620 in revenue over the life of a 20-year contract.
This revenue would be realized through the feed-in tariff (FIT) program under the Ontario Green Energy Act, which guarantees specific rates for energy generation from renewable sources paid by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA).
Under the microFIT program, which is for generators of less than 10 kilowatts, the town would be guaranteed 80 cents per kilowatt hour produced through a 20-year contract with the OPA.
With the life expectancy of the solar panels and related equipment estimated at 40 years, and the energy production of the panels estimated to deteriorate by about 20 percent by the end of the 20-year contract, another agreement could be negotiated with the OPA to continue to generate revenue.
The revenues made from selling energy collected by the solar panels could be used for energy-saving retrofits, infrastructure improvements, facility upgrades, and more.
The recommendations in Rob’s report were based on a feasibility study conducted back in October.
A company called Solar Logix conducted a study on 10 town buildings. It looked at suitable roof areas for installation, an analysis of shade-producing obstructions in the area of installations, a computer model of installations to determine projected generation capacity, and a preliminary cost breakdown.
Costs and revenues were analyzed, and possible locations ranked according to annual production, initial cost, and annual revenue.
Council accepted the report for consideration separate from the 2011 capital budget, but several people have serious questions about the proposed venture.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft said it sounds “too good to be true.”
“I am very leery about this whole project,” he remarked, noting he doesn’t know how the OPA can continue to pay out—over a 20-year period—80 cents per kilowatt hour when they’re taking in revenue of five cents a kilowatt hour.
“They can’t maintain that,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft argued. “I’m just very leery about this whole thing.”
He also said he has concerns about the danger of significant elemental damage to the panels, as well as putting the panels on top of buildings that need roof work, like the Civic Centre.
“If something happens to the roof, what are we going to have to do?” asked Coun. Wiedenhoeft. “Remove all the panels to replace the roof, put the panels back?
“I’ve got some serious questions about this,” he reiterated.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown said he has a concern about high winds tearing panels from rooftops, and wants to check to see if the town is insured for that.
“Am I nervous? Yeah, I am nervous because we’ve got lots of wind and stuff and I don’t want to see, if all these panels fall off, that we’re paying for something and we’re not generating any money,” he noted.
“That’s where I’m nervous.”
Mayor Roy Avis asked the same about hail, but Brown said he’s been assured the panels are hail-proof.
The panels also come with a 20-year warranty.
Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig also wondered about ongoing maintenance, like washing the solar panels and snow removal.
But Brown replied he’s been told the panels generate enough energy to melt snow, and only have to be washed about three times a year (at the start of spring, pollen season, and in the fall).
Coun. Ken Perry said he has experience with solar panels. He’s put them on top of two cabins, and knows they’re durable and low maintenance.
“Solar panels are indestructible just about,” he remarked. “They’re not going to blow off in a hurricane the way they’re put up.
“They’re not going to fold up, they’re not going to bend, they’re not going to break,” he stressed. “Hail’s not going to hurt them, ice and snow’s not going to hurt them.
“I am not leery about this at all,” Coun. Perry added.
Coun. John Albanese asked how common solar panels are in Northwestern Ontario, to which Brown replied they’re on some homes and cabins.
Meanwhile, Community Services manager George Bell said area municipalities like Dryden and Kenora are looking at them right now.
Coun. Paul Ryan said he still can’t believe the province can pay 80 cents per kilowatt hour, then asked, “Do you build the panels and then get the agreement or do you get the agreement and then build the panels?”
Brown said the town has been approved to get an agreement and is “in the queue” to participate in the microFIT program if council decides to go ahead.
But the town must proceed with the solar panels within a year or it loses the agreement.
Coun. Ryan said the town must have its lawyer take a look at the agreement and “it’s got to be airtight.”
He noted electricity rates are the hottest topic in Ontario, and with a provincial election coming up, “a new regime could come in here in October . . . and nix this whole thing because they promised to do it during the election.”
Coun. Perry said everyone already is subsidizing the 80-cent payout through the global energy adjustment on their electricity bill every month.
“The other thing is, it’s going to be a 20-year contract,” he argued. “You’ll sign in, Ontario’s going to sign in with you. They’re going to commit to 20 years at 80.2 cents and we’re paying for it right now.
“If you don’t want it, you’re still going to pay for it.”
Mayor Avis also said he doesn’t know how the province can sustain the 80-cent payout, noting you can’t buy lemons for 80 cents and then sell them for five cents.
“It doesn’t make any sense now, and that’s basically what’s happening, but the government’s into it, big time,” he remarked, agreeing that a charge to help pay for it is part of everyone’s hydro bills right now.
But Coun. Ryan said it’s that extra line items on hydro bills that people do not want, and that’s why the whole issue “is going to be doggone political when this election really fires up.”
“I could see this going out the window,” he warned. “I want to be darn sure any agreement that we have, if we go ahead with this, is airtight.”
Mayor Avis and Coun. Andrew Hallikas also noted there’s problems in Northern Ontario’s hydro transmission and distribution lines.
“The lines that we have up here are 115 kw as opposed to down south, which are 230, and they only have a certain amount of capacity,” said Coun. Hallikas.
“There has been instances where the lines can’t take any more electricity being fed through the grid, so that is something that needs to be looked into,” he warned.
Whether or not the town goes ahead with the solar panel project will be discussed at future meetings, possibly along with a presentation from Solar Logix.
