Blog entries

Hooray to the OPA

Ed Peterson — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:30:35 +0100

I must say, that the OPA has shown me today that they are really committed to the FIT program that was launched October 2009. If you have read my last number of blog entries, you will know what I thought about their proposal, and it wasn't pretty. The announcement today, while not as good as hoped, was better than I expected. The ideal situation was that the OPA would have left things as they were until October 2011, the planned review date. The worst case scenario was that the OPA would haveRead More...

Cooling Off

Ed Peterson — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:15:49 +0100

I had to take a break from thinking about the OPA actions regarding the proposed rate change for ground mounted PV solar. The ripples I am feeling and the discussions within the industry are completely negative. This is poised to impact the program, as well as the economy of Ontario.

I urge every reader to take 3 minutes and sign an online petition to be presented to the OPA on July 26th. While they are not responding to individual emails sent to them, I know as they have not respondedRead More...

By, by, hey, hey

Ed Peterson — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:15:08 +0100

Just listening to Neil Young on the radio as I contemplate writing this, and I am amazed at the appropriateness of the verse. Yesterday I spoke with a module (solar panel) supplier that was telling me they now only have 1MW of panels available for the balance of the year. This is just 100 - 10kW systems for Ontario.

The reason? Germany just reopened their FIT program, and the world is now scrambling to ship product there. Ontario has lost its position in the industry, and we will be feRead More...

Stupid Solution

Ed Peterson — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:38:22 +0100

I heard that part of the reason the OPA decided to reduce the rate on ground mounted solar was that some companies had applied for thousands of microFIT contracts along rural roads where the existing hydro infrastructure could not accept the capacity. This would mean large costs to upgrade the system.

I can appreciate that the OPA wanted to streamline the application process, so they left the LDCs (local hydro distribution companies) out of the application loop. If they now include theRead More...

Ontario or Bust!

Ed Peterson — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:07:04 +0100

I wish I could have attended the OPA web/teleconference sessions about the proposed new rate category for ground mounted solar. I hear I missed hours of complaints by former microFIT supporters.

I did my part however and sent emails to my MPP, the minister and the OPA. I wish that I felt better knowing I have done this, but I am concerned that my comments will fall on deaf ears.

I wish the OPA and the Minister could hear what I hear everyday as I am talking with potential customRead More...

The Star Parrots the OPA

Ed Peterson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:39:26 +0100

The Star reports the same propaganda that the OPA issues, stating that ground mounted solar costs less than rooftop mounted. I really wish that someone reporting this information would take the time to actually investigate the story before they print it.

Ground mounted solar costs less only when the owner chooses to build the system themselves, which happens in about 5% of the projects. The rest of the installs use a sales and installation company, using manufactured and engineered comRead More...

What can I do?

Ed Peterson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:46:37 +0100

Many emails from customers and prospective ones, along with concerned visitors has prompted me to add commenting to my blog. Share your thoughts and what you are doing to let the ministry and the OPA know what you think of the proposed rate change.

Here are some things you can do:

John Gerretsen is the Kingston & Islands MPP. If you are in his area, let him know what you think. If you are outside of his area, send a message to your own MPP: http://www.johngerretsen.onmpp.ca/
YRead More...

re: Let's Stop & Think

Ed Peterson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 06:03:05 +0100

This is really hard to write, because back on June 4th I blogged about how the industry should empathize with the OPA's situation having thousands of applications to process, and how we should be appreciative of the opportunity they offered us.

Over the last few days, I have really done an about face, because I now understand that the delays were not due to application volume, they were due to the OPA planning to screw the applicants of the microFIT program. I was blindly supporting thRead More...

Momentum builds

Ed Peterson — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:09:12 +0100

Today another manufacturer told me of $55 million in sales lost to the OPA change in microFIT ground mounted pricing. This is just a sign of news I expect to hear more about from within the industry as time goes on.

Unfortunately I don't believe that the OPA understands the severity nor the full implications of their proposed rate change. If this goes through, the OPA and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure will loose all credibility within the solar industry.

Many peopleRead More...

OPA house of cards begins to fall

Ed Peterson — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:09:23 +0100

Faster than the solar industry is built in Ontario, it begins to fall apart.

Today we lost over a million dollars in business because yesterday, the OPA proposed a rate reduction for ground mounted microFIT projects. This was no small drop, this was not an expected drop during their 2 year program review, this was over 26% out of the blue!

The claim is that in keeping with the spirit of the program, they needed to reduce the rate for the program to be sustainable. Translated thiRead More...

OPA Kills microFIT

Ed Peterson — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 04:44:04 +0100

Today the OPA announced a new rate of 58.8¢/kW for ground mounted microFIT installations citing the success of the program (lots of applications), with the majority of them being ground mounted as the reason. They go on to say that for the program to be sustainable, the new rate for lesser costing ground mount projects be reduced, but that it will still offer future project owners to recover cost and earn a reasonable return over the long term. In addition they cite that the progrRead More...

Building permits & strutural assessments

Ed Peterson — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:50:46 +0100

The city of Kingston has implemented a building permit requirement for the installation of roof mounted PV solar. Originally, PV thermal was only subject to building permits, due to the weight that the fluid in the system, along with the system, racking and increased snow/wind loads added to the roof, after a report by Rooney Engineering in Kingston was reviewed, PV solar now requires a permit as well.

To be able to get a permit ($45 cost) the applicant must present an engineer or equiRead More...

An annoying little hack

Ed Peterson — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:02:38 +0100

You may have noticed that the site was hacked this morning. An annoying little inconvenience by some childish pranksters looking for their 2 seconds of glory. I hope you enjoyed it.

Well, no big deal as you can see, back to business as usual. As always, if you are looking for pricing or information, drop me an email.

Pricing & Quotes

Ed Peterson — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:51:29 +0100

Unfortunately, I have been so busy, that I have just not had time to work on updating my online pricing program. Here is a quick way to get the information you want now:

If you know how large a system you would like a quote on, send me an email and let me know the kilowatts of the system you would like priced.
If you don't know the size of the system you want, but know approximately how large the area (roof or ground) that you plan to put your system on, email me the information, and I wRead More...

Let's stop & think before shooting off our mouth

Ed Peterson — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:44:41 +0100

Having been in business for many years, I can't remember the last time that the government offered every homeowner in the province the opportunity to get a 20 year contract with them. This is not something that happens everyday, and I think we have lost sight of this fact.

Some people are really upset about the delays they and their clients are experiencing with the OPA. These people are obviously not used to being in business, and think that by making a lot of noise, they will someRead More...

Hunch to rumor to reality

Ed Peterson — Sat, 29 May 2010 04:48:00 +0100

Well, earlier I hinted at the possibility of solar component shortages this summer. I was reading an article in the local newspaper today, that referred to the fact that the OPA has received 13,000 microFIT applications to date. No wonder why they are taking 90 days to process applications or why they have only processed 4,000 or so. It's been a landslide!

So what happens when 9,000 applications are finally processed (not to mention new applications submitted since then). Well the inveRead More...

FIT project review

Ed Peterson — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:50:18 +0100

I regularly get requests to quote on FIT sized projects, which I do. It seems that you really need a project that is over 30kW to make feasible from a cost perspective. There is a good FIT project review on the city of Toronto website about the Solar City project on the Horse Palace. Info here...

If you are interested in investing in PV Solar beyond a project on your own property or building, you should check out PVPowerCorp.com and they have a unique program to develop megawatt sized Read More...

First Summer Price Jump

Ed Peterson — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:47:03 +0100

Well, as expected the demand for summer solar installations has already driven the price for solar modules (panels) up for June orders. Supplies from China have gone up $0.30 per watt.

What this mean for many solar installations beginning in June is an increase in prices by about $3,000 on a 10kW system.

Regrettably with the OPA taking as long as 90 days to process applications, home owners, businesses and developers will need to decide how to proceed. If you sign a contraRead More...

Understanding the delay

Ed Peterson — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:46:27 +0100

After attending this month's Switch meeting, I was a little annoyed to hear that the OPA was claiming 90 days processing on new microFIT projects. This has upset a lot of people, and understandable so, as they were hoping to beat the HST. Unless you have a contract offer in hand, this will probably not happen.

While on the Power Authority's website today, I was reading Colin Andersen's speech to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce AGM, Windsor, April 30, 201. At that time he mentioned thaRead More...

Online Pricing

Ed Peterson — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:53:19 +0100

If you have been following what has been happening here, you will understand that a lot of new products and manufacturers have been added to our product line. While this has been great in helping improve the quality and price of the equipment we are currently offering our customers, it has also made it difficult to keep the online Design-A-System current. I have removed it from the site for the present time, but I am working on updating it with the new products we have to offer. In the mean tRead More...