The German Canadian Chamber of Industry and Commerce joined forces to present a high quality day long forum on Building Integrated Solar Photovoltaics at the newly refurbished historic Allstream Centre at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
The event featured both leading Canadian and German experts on the application of building integrated photovoltaic technologies to generate power and create exciting aesthtics treatments to both vintage historic buildings and to cutting-edge innovative new building structures of all scales.
The event highlighted the rapid development of the technology in Northern Europe and East Asia compared with the far more modest pace of the technologies growth in North America. Examples of BIPV structures varying from the Canadian government building in Yellowknife, the Manitoba Hydro tower in Winnipeg and an upscale private home in the village of Eastman in Quebec’s Eastern Townships area.
A large number of universities and government offices have taken a strong interest in Canada’s solar sector including Concordia University (Montreal), Ryerson University (Toronto), Natural Resources Canada, Ontario Ministry of Energy, City of Toronto and The Living City at Kortright.
The home in Eastman was of particular interest because it illustrated the potential of BIPV incorporated into the rooftop shingling system of residential homes across Canada. At the conference I met the inventor and distributor of a brand new solar pv system that can be installed directly onto the pitched roofs of existing or new roofs. I believe that this LUMA Solar PV roofing system has enormous potential both with new and existing homes across Canada, but especially with remote off-grid First First Nation, military and mining communities scattered across Canada’s north. Jurisdictions like Ontario that have or are contemplating generous Ontario Feed In Tariff guaranteed payment contracts, like the ones offered by the Ontario Power Authority and the province’s Local Distribution Companies (utilities) have the benefit of future cash flow as well as the a source of clean green power.We all have much to look forward to from this emerging renewable energy innovation
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