MicroFIT Solar for Farms

The Green Energy Act has brought a new crop opportunity to Ontario’s farmers: selling kilowatt hours of electricity.  The electricity is “harvested” from the rooftops of farm buildings or from rows of solar panels mounted on the ground.  The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is buying these green kilowatt-hours for $0.802 each, offering farmers a steady income stream for 20 years (see www.powerauthority.ca/microfit).

Why pay a premium for solar electric power?  Ontario wants to retool its power grid to use more renewables, like wind and solar, and to ultimately phase out coal.  To build a “green-economy” Ontario wants to develop a domestic solar industry, building, selling and installing solar systems in the province.  While that means paying an initial premium for solar generated electricity, a fast growing industry can get its costs down quickly, with the end goal of driving solar costs down to the point that it will provide electricity cheaper and cleaner than coal.

The mechanism to buy green electricity is called a “Feed-In Tariff”.  The OPA is offering a 20 year purchase contract with anyone who owns a solar system, wind generators or small hydro system.  Small businesses, home owners or farmers are all eligible. The OPA will buy all the electricity delivered to the utility from a solar system of 10kW or less at the fixed price of 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour over the 20 year contract. With Ontario’s weather, each kilowatt of solar installed on an unshaded area can produce from 1000 to 1300 kWh of electricity per year, depending on where in the province it is located. That represents an annual income potential of $10,000 or more from an otherwise unused roof or piece of land.

The Gallagher’s own a rolling farm north of scenic community of Uxbridge.  Late in 2009, they installed a 10kW solar system on a storage building next to the barn.  The solar system attached right to the roof, and takes up about 1000 square feet of roof space.  Their contract with the OPA should deliver an annual income of $11,000 or more.  For them, this is a good investment, considering the turn-key costs of the installation were around $80,000.  Over the 20 year contract their “crop” will yield over $200,000 in revenue, and will still produce electricity for a decade or more after the OPA contract has expired. But they’re also earning enough income from their roof to pay the electrical costs of their home and farm.

“We always loved the idea of the farm producing clean energy from the sun” says Nancy Gallagher whose enthusiasm for the solar is infectious. “Then the MicroFIT program came along and we found a great opportunity to make money and green energy. We are so excited we are now helping our neighbours put systems in for themselves.”

The OPA designed a special Feed-In Tariff program for farmers and home owners called the MicroFIT Solar Program. Solar electric systems under 10kW in size not only have a special tariff rate of 80 cents per kWh, they have a fast track application process and automatic eligibility for a contract.  Larger systems have a lower tariff ($0.713 or $0.635/kWh), must pass a connection test with the utility and take longer to commission but are still lucrative.

Home Energy Solutions is a Barrie company specializing in MicroFIT systems. The founder, Dave Egles has 25 years of experience with solar electric power, is the past president of CanSIA, the Canadian Solar Industries Association. Home Energy has put together a series of MicroFIT packages that combine reliable, brand name solar equipment like Sharp Solar modules with mounting systems designed specifically for homes and farms.

“Solar electricity is a such a beautiful thing” says Egles, 51. “A silicon solar cell is basically made from sand, and once finished converts sunlight to electricity. It lasts for 3 decades or more, and the solar panels we use have a 25 year warranty. It’s great to see Ontario putting this great technology to work”.

Home Energy Solutions offer 5 packages of different sizes. Options include special mounting systems for metal roofs, and ground mounting systems for larger solar arrays. See www.solarforfarms.ca to see the MicroFIT lineup. Home Energy also has installers located all over the province ready to help launch the MicroFIT systems.

“There is a great race to get systems in this summer” says Egles. “The Return-On-Investment is very high in Ontario, but changes in the rules in 2011 may make systems more expensive. Clearly there is a huge opportunity for farmers to benefit from installing solar this year”.

Meanwhile, the Gallagher’s are receiving checks from their utility every two months for the electricity produced by their solar roof. And they’ll keep on getting them for 19 more years.