Loblaw says its $10-million, 7.5-megawatt rooftop solar task - expected to be finished in 2026 - at its circulation centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., will be the country's largest.Supplied/ Loblaw Cos.
Ltd. Large-scale rooftop solar tasks have yet to get widespread traction with Canadian developers.
Financing can be complicated and it can take time for developers to acquire returns on their financial investments, but new solar jobs are still being announced, says Victoria Papp, senior director of strategy and development at BOMA Canada, a group representing Canadian building owners and managers.
" Solar uptake in business real estate is still far from being a prevalent practice throughout the market, but it's certainly increasing," Ms. Papp says. "It can be challenging to retrofit structures that were never created with photovoltaic panels in mind."
This month, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association said it's tracked more than $31-billion in investment in renewable energy - such as solar and wind power sources - throughout the country. A just recently released report also found Canada's solar, wind and energy storage sectors have actually grown by 46 percent over the previous 5 years, with 10,000 megawatts of brand-new capacity expected to be connected by 2030.
As a contrast, almost 6,500 megawatts of solar energy - enough to power as numerous as two-million homes - was produced in Canada in 2022, according to the federal government.
Scaling solar throughout Canada
While nationwide investment figures highlight solar's growing function in Canada's energy mix, some business are taking the lead in scaling up tasks of their own.
In late July, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. announced it's building what it states will be Canada's largest rooftop planetary system setup at its new circulation centre in East Gwillimbury, Ont., north of Toronto.
The $10-million, 7.5-megawatt project, expected to be completed in 2026, will cover the building's roofing with almost 435,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels - about the size of seven football fields. It's anticipated to generate 8.5-million kilowatt-hours a year, about a quarter of the needs of Loblaw's automatic distribution centre.
" The building itself is extremely energy-intensive due to the automation and refrigeration systems inside," says Tom Marson, Loblaw's vice-president of building technology and energy. "The photovoltaic panel system will assist us balance out energy usage in the building."
Great Circle Solar Management Corp. will be the contractor, owner and operator of the job and offer the power to Loblaw under a long-term arrangement. The task is the largest of almost 60 roof solar initiatives in which the two business have partnered in the previous ten years.
" Power from the solar panel system on the roofing system is fed directly into the electrical spaces of the facility and utilized to directly power the site's operations in East Gwillimbury," states Clarke Herring, Great Circle Solar's CEO.
Meeting business climate targets
Commercial circulation centres are not the only types of residential or commercial properties installing massive solar tasks. In Waterloo, Ont., Conestoga College established a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon school. The system, which went reside in 2023, generates about 1.6-million kwh of sustainable, tidy energy a year, enough to power a minimum of 40,000 homes.
The system, which spreads out more than 3,000 solar panels over the roofing systems of numerous buildings, assists Conestoga meet 15 per cent of its yearly electrical power needs and offset peak need from the standard grid by 57 per cent.
" We're committed at Conestoga to supporting Canada's clean development and climate-change objectives for a more sustainable future," says Tim Schill, the college's vice-president of centers and capital development. "This job is a significant advance in assisting decrease [greenhouse gas] emissions and promoting sustainable stewardship of our environment and resources."
Ontario's Conestoga College has actually established a 1.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Kitchener-Doon school that creates about 1.6-million kilowatt hours of eco-friendly, clean energy a year.Supplied/ Conestoga College
Loblaw says among the reasons for installing photovoltaic panels at its circulation centre is to help fulfill the company's net-zero emissions reduction targets.
" We're intending to accomplish net absolutely no for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040," Mr. Marson states. Scope 1 emissions are produced directly from sources owned or controlled by a business, while Scope 2 emissions represent those produced from the generation of bought electrical power that's consumed by the business or organization.
" Procuring and consuming sustainable energy on residential or commercial properties where high amounts of energy is consumed is a vital action for us," Mr. Marson says, including it's especially crucial for Loblaw, since the business communicates with consumers daily.
" We run countless shops all across the nation, which means we are deeply woven into the fabric of the communities we serve," he says. "Countless day-to-day consumers and our 220,000 colleagues and staff members anticipate us to lead."
According to Mr. Marson, Loblaw initially set carbon decrease targets for its business stores in 2016, and it fulfilled those years ahead of schedule. "We reset our baseline in 2020, and included franchise shops and Shoppers Drug Mart places. Since then, we have actually minimized our carbon footprint 16 percent and continue to make substantial development."
Finding the best funding
Mr. Schill says constructing small and medium-sized solar projects, such as Conestoga's, can be challenging because of troubles securing funding, as well as shifting regulations and reward programs.
" Until just recently, it was simpler to get favourable government-backed funding if you had a $100-million task," he says. The relocation by Prime Minister Mark Carney to ditch the undesirable federal carbon tax was a problem because the tax had actually made utilizing gas more costly and solar power more appealing, he includes.
Mr. Schill is encouraged by recent moves such as the brand-new $100-million partnership in between the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Scotiabank, which aims to help owners retrofit small and mid-sized business buildings.
Ali Hoss, head of sustainability and ESG at Colliers Canada, says the country can gain from relocations in the United States to cease solar-power rewards.
" Investors in the U.S. should now price-in high political danger," he says. "Canada, by contrast, has broad, multi-party assistance for sustainability. This predictability is a critical benefit for bring in the long-term, patient capital required genuine estate and facilities projects like solar."
Great Circle Solar's Mr. Herring concurs. "Going solar supplies an important long-lasting fiscal hedge against uncertain future electrical energy expenses."
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