City invests $ 2.6 million to install solar panel systems on 13 rooftops

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The city is spending $ 2.6 million to install solar panel systems on 13 rooftops, from fire rooms to libraries, to save energy costs, guard against rising electricity rates, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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“We have done all the calculations and it is definitely a benefit for the city,” says Windsor energy initiatives manager Sokol Aliko of this latest initiative to harness the sun to offset electricity costs at various facilities in the city.

Total electricity savings once installation costs are taken into account is about $ 2 million over 20 years, he said.

This is the city’s first foray into photovoltaic roofing projects since the current progressive conservative provincial government moved away from the lucrative power rate programs of the previous liberal government, which paid high prices for electricity generated by solar projects. Under the FIT programs, Windsor installed large solar projects atop some of its largest buildings, the Downtown Aquatic Center, the WFCU Center, and the Transit Windsor headquarters, and generates around $ 700,000 annually in revenue thanks to fees that still double and triple the market rate. . Those projects have 20-year contracts that expire between 2035 and 2038.

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Under the new Net Metering program, participants like Windsor can generate renewable energy on site for their own use and receive credits on their hydro bills for any surplus electricity they supply to the grid.

“In a net metering facility, the electricity generated offsets the electricity consumed at the facility, at retail prices,” says a recent report to the city council. “This is a very effective hedge against price increases, given the historical upward trend in electricity prices in Ontario.”

The report estimates cost savings of $ 4.4 million over 20 years, assuming electricity costs increase three percent annually. That’s a very conservative estimate, given that the average cost of electricity in Ontario has risen seven percent annually for the past eight years.

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“Three percent is very close to inflation and maybe below inflation at the current inflation rate (around 4.4 percent), so there is no question that it will be higher than that.” Aliko said.

The Council approved the winning bidders for the projects in November. The installation is expected to take place in the new year. The 13 rooftops are at: Optimist Community Center and WF Chisholm Library; Forest Glade Community Center and Library; John Atkinson Community Center; fire rooms 2, 5, 6 and 7; the fire fighting apparatus building; the storage building for parks and recreational facilities; the park maintenance and recreation yard; Budimir Library; Fontainebleau Library; and Little River Pollution Control Plant.

Some buildings will have almost all of their energy generated by photovoltaic roofing projects. For example, the Fontainebleau Library, which requires 119,886 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, will get a rooftop system that will generate 112,020 kWh at a cost of $ 292,229, saving $ 437,151 over the project’s 20 years. On the other side of the scale, the $ 277,395 system for the Little River Pollution Control Plant will produce 111,828 kWh annually, which is a very small proportion of the 5.7 million kWh that the power-hungry plant requires each anus. Still, the rooftop project will save $ 328.17 over 20 years.

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The largest savings of $ 689,307 will occur in the parks and recreational maintenance yard, where a $ 298,200 PV project will generate 180,941 kWh per year, which will take care of the majority of the energy requirements of the 195,881 kWh facility. .

In total, the 13 projects will generate 1.2 million kWh per year, which will translate into savings of $ 4.4 million. Installation cost has come down since the last FIT project was installed in 2017 at a cost of $ 2.36 per watt. Now the cost is $ 2.22.

The contracts with the three companies approved for the 13 projects include maintenance agreements and performance guarantees, so the projected numbers are guaranteed, Aliko said.

But Aliko stressed that the projects are not just about saving taxpayers money. By replacing grid electricity with renewable energy, greenhouse gases will be reduced by a minimum of 40.3 tons, according to the report. And if you take into account the fact that these photovoltaic systems mainly replace the electricity supplied by natural gas power plants, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions amounts to 140 tonnes.

Windsor has set targets to reduce its energy use by 11% by 2030 and 25% by 2041, and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030 and 40% by 2041.

Aliko said that the 13 projects will produce very clean energy that will contribute to the provincial and municipal goals.

“And it puts Windsor in a leadership position in promoting clean energy and promoting environmental protection,” he said.

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