The Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) and Hannover Fairs (Canada), Inc. today announced that CanSIA Solar Canada 2016 Conference and Exhibition attracted 2400 registrants and hosted 83 international exhibitors, covering 13,680 square feet of exhibition space in addition to the expo feature areas highlighting Electric Vehicles and a racking competition. The event was held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre from December 5-6. Solar Canada is the largest annual gathering of the solar energy industry in Canada, which is one of the leading markets for solar photovoltaic (PV) globally. Canada will soon surpass three gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity.
“This year’s Solar Canada event took place during a pivotal time in our industry marked by boundless opportunities for solar energy coupled with uncertainty as markets and policies ebb and flow,” said John Gorman, President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association. “Many of the industry’s pressing questions were addressed head on by industry experts during our conference.”
Jeremy Rifkin: Solar Power is the Energy Source of the Future
A highlight of this year’s conference was noted economist and social theorist, Jeremy Rifkin’s, keynote address that detailed a compelling new vision of how we can transition to a Third Industrial Revolution economy and navigate in a post carbon world. Mr. Rifkin captivated the audience with his views about how climate change, technology, and consumer options and preferences are changing every aspect of daily life. He discussed how business, infrastructure and other economic elements can benefit from partnerships with the solar industry to implement clean-energy projects and to deploy solar across the grid. Mr. Rifkin’s optimism for renewables, especially solar power, drew a standing ovation from attendees.
Solar Industry In Canada: Three Key Drivers Changing The Market
During the conference’s first day, Patrick Bateman, Director of Policy & Market Development at CanSIA, and Ben Weir, Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at CanSIA, reviewed what defined 2016 for Canada’s solar industry and what the implications are for the industry going forward. Messrs. Bateman and Weir outlined three broad themes that describe key drivers changing the solar industry.
Theme #1: Climate Action Is Driving Energy Policy
Messrs. Bateman and Weir discussed Canada’s pledge to move toward 30 percent emissions reduction by 2030, to create long-term transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy and to accelerate deployment of clean energy. They showcased how Canada’s Federal Government is leading by example by positioning Canada for a low-carbon future with deep reductions in emissions, by introducing a minimum national carbon price and by committing to power all federal buildings with renewable electricity by 2025. They also showcased the Western Provinces, namely Alberta and Saskatchewan, energy and efficiency targets and actions. Under this theme, Messrs. Bateman and Weir outlined CanSIA’s role in 2017, which will include advancing solar energy in the provincial supply-mix planning, accelerating solar deployment, acting as a regulatory body for solar power design & implementation, and building/maintaining the Canadian publics’ confidence in solar energy.
Theme #2: Utilities & Regulators Are Addressing Distributed Solar
Messrs. Bateman and Weir showcased that Canada’s utilities and regulators are seriously addressing the future of solar across the grid. They discussed Ontario utility’s new net-metering proposal, its investigation into solar storage, as well as the benefits and challenges of these resources as alternatives to traditional “pole/wire” solutions. Messrs. Bateman and Weir highlighted Alberta’s Micro-Generation Regulation and the provinces grid and regulatory readiness for solar energy, as well as addressed how other provinces are addressing solar. They announced an upcoming CanSIA white paper that will address a number of distributed solar issues. Under this theme, they also outlined CanSIA’s role in 2017, which will include engaging in multi-stakeholder consultations and advocating for best practice treatment of solar with rate and tariff design, virtual net-metering, community solar and interconnection processes & costs.
Theme #3: Prairies Are Taking The Lead On Utility-Scale Solar Electricity
Messrs. Bateman and Weir highlighted the new policies and programs in Western Canada, showcasing how Alberta and Saskatchewan are leading on utility-scale solar electricity. The implications of these new policies and programs for the solar industry going forward are many. Solar procurement design in the Western Provinces is key to competiveness. Lower costs will drive greater scale and pace and there will be an increase in public awareness around solar energy across the provinces. Messrs. Bateman and Weir outlined CanSIA’s role here to support procurement launches, advocate for best practice treatment of solar in fuel-neutral procurements and capacity markets, to advocate for appropriate utility-scale solar in the Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) and to build/maintain public confidence and support of solar power.
“The solar industry came to this year’s annual event with many questions, as 2016 was a very dynamic year for solar policy development. The event provided answers to those questions and CanSIA believes that the solar industry is better positioned as a result for 2017 which will be a productive year for solar project development and deployment,” added Gorman. “Scale and pace is not guaranteed, so we all must continue to act as advocates and ambassadors for the Canadian solar industry to succeed.”
Exhibitors Display Technological Advancements and Optimistic Outlook for Canada’s Solar Energy Market
Commenting on the “Utilities Coming Together” experience at Solar Canada 2016, Eric Fagen, Vice President of Corporate Communications at PowerStream, explained, “PowerStream is going through a merger with three other utilities, Enersource, Horizon Utilities and Hydro One Brampton, so we utilized Solar Canada 2016 as a platform to position our new company in advance of the utilities consolidating.” Once merged, the new entity will be the fourth largest publicly owned utility in Canada and the second largest municipally owned utility in North America with more than 1 million customers.
Added Fagen, “Our goal for this year’s show was to interact with as many North American attendees as possible to showcase the technologies we are implementing and piloted. We utilized monitors in our booth to stream live data from our microgrid demonstration project, as well as our residential solar storage pilot program and were extremely pleased with the level of qualified attendee interest and insightful questions. From an overall perspective, Solar Canada 2016 was successful in meeting our goals.”
Bryan Asa, General Manager of Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc., said, “Panasonic is a longtime supporter of Solar Canada.” This year, Panasonic exhibited two different storage capabilities – residential solar and storage, as well as its commercial storage project and initiatives. “People underestimate the support that CanSIA brings to the industry by taking the lead to draw Canada’s entire solar energy industry together for valuable networking, particularly in an industry that undergoes ongoing change. As the industry evolves, Solar Canada presents a great opportunity for solar industry vendors to promote net metering and storage” added Bryan.
News item from CanSIA