B.C. homeowners not warming to solar power

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbians may know that green power is good power, but homeowners are shying away from alternative sources such as solar panels because of high installation costs and the inexpensive option of hydro electricity.

The head of a Victoria alternative energy company says that at current energy prices, it makes little sense for homeowners served by the BC Hydro grid to convert to solar power for their home electricity.

“You’re looking at between 60 and 80 years for a return on your investment, and that’s only if you paid with cash, not considering loss of interest paid to a bank for a loan,” said Kevin Pegg, CEO of Energy Alternatives, whose company installs photovoltaic solar panels in B.C. His company only does three to five per cent of its work at grid-tied locations.

“Most of what we do is at remote locations, where they don’t have the benefit of BC Hydro, or where it costs $100,000 to bring BC Hydro in,” Pegg said.

“One thing people need to be reminded of, which I do continually, is that British Columbia has the third-cheapest electricity rates in all of North America.”

Pegg said it makes more sense to install a photovoltaic solar system in Ontario, which gets most of its energy from coal and nuclear sources, and where energy is more expensive.

“The [return on investment] in Ontario for that system might be less than 10 years, whereas it might be up to 80 years in B.C.,” Pegg said. “The people in B.C. are looking at [it] as a pure decadent purchase.”

By contrast, a recent photovoltaic installation by Energy Alternatives at an off-grid dude ranch near 70 Mile House is saving the owner, who previously powered the place with diesel generators, 87 per cent of diesel consumption.

Pegg estimated the owners will have a three-year return on their investment.

Both Pegg and Peter Ronald, provincial coordinator for the BC Sustainable Energy Association BCSEA, took exception with some of the information presented in a TD Canada Trust survey published this on the use of solar panels.

The survey found that while 91 per cent of Canadians know green energy is good for the environment, 76 per cent shy away from installing solar panels because of the cost.

TD Canada Trust, promoting its various financing options for home renovation, released a survey of 1,000 Canadian homeowners on their views on solar power.

One thing that irked Pegg and Ronald was the claim that five per cent of surveyed Canadians were generating electricity by installing solar panels.

“It’s more like 0.0005 per cent,” Pegg said, while Ronald added that the claim “is not even remotely possible.”

Ronald said a low-cost, entry-level photovoltaic system would run about $20,000.

He felt homeowners might get better returns if they went with a solar thermal system, used to heat water in a structure — which, with the proper setup, could also heat a house.

“Solar PV [photovoltaic] does have a place in B.C.’s power mix, but it is for the off-grid market until and unless electricity prices are much higher or our electricity is coming from non-renewable sources instead of from our legacy hydroelectric dams,” Ronald said. “But for the benefits this survey is purporting to assign to PV, you need to look at solar thermal.”

Pegg did not rule out on-the-grid solar PV in the province should circumstances change.

“That whole equation can change over time as power gets more expensive and the price of solar drops,” he said.