Strathcona Solar Initiatives, a multiple award winning full service integrator in Southeastern Ontario, recently completed the installation of a high-yielding 140-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the Rona Building Centre in Hanover, Southern Ontario. The array is one of 30 projects that the Strathcona Energy Group and Shawanaga First Nation own jointly in an investment partnership, leasing the roof space from the owner of the building.
The Haack family has owned the 27,000 square foot home improvement center in the small town of Hanover since 2003. From the beginning, Mr. Haack has been keen on being a leader in energy efficiency, not only because it optimizes his operations and saves money on utility costs but also because he feels it is his responsibility toward the community and future generations.
That he was able to utilize an already existing part of his store and warehouse area to create revenue without upfront costs was ideal, he says, and he is planning on investing some of the rent income to upgrade the building and its surroundings. The income from the solar panels will also allow him to pay off some of the debt that owning a store brings with it.
“I am not sure the Hanover store is the first Rona Centre in Ontario to rent out its roof space for solar revenue, but I do think it’s the wave of the future,” says Brian Haack, the President and Owner of Hanover Rona Building Centre. “Being financially as well as environmentally sustainable is a crucial part of our business philosophy, and in Strathcona we found an ideal partner to pursue this goal on a very profitable level.”
The 140 kilowatt array with 622 top-yielding Canadian-manufactured solar modules was designed and installed by Strathcona Solar Initiatives who will also be monitoring and servicing the array to ensure maximum production over the several-decade long lifetime of the system. The generated electricity is fed into the grid under Ontario’s IESO 20-year Feed-in-Tariff (FiT).
“It is great for us to work with business owners like Brian Haack at Rona Hanover because they understand the low risk and high yields of a long-term sustainable investment in solar energy,” says Karl Hollett, the CEO and founder of Strathcona Energy Group. “It is also an absolute honor and privilege for us to partner with Shawanaga First Nation again in making this project come to fruition.”