Solar Seminars

JAZZ Solar will be hosting Solar Educational Seminars at 7pm twice a month. Check our events calendar for upcoming dates. Click here for dates.

Our seminar promises to be interesting and informative. It is a chance to hear the experts speak and to see the technology up close. Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome. Please let your friends know and bring them along.

Please click here to RSVP. Seminar is subject to a minimum number of participants. We will notify you either way if you register.

Ottawa solar panels plan available to home owners

EMC News – Recently, city council approved an agreement with Energy Ottawa Limited, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa, to install rooftop solar energy arrays on up to 20 of the city’s largest rooftops over the next three years.

The energy produced through the project will be fed back into the provincial power grid through Hydro Ottawa’s distribution system. When fully implemented, it is expected that the amount of solar electrical energy produced will be enough to power more than 300 homes.

The rooftop solar arrays will help to reduce greenhouse gases and provide a new revenue stream for the city, estimated to be up to $5 million over 20 years, from rooftop leases as well as potentially enhanced dividends from Hydro Ottawa over the 20-year term of the project.

The decision reinforces the city’s strategic objectives for environmental sustainability by increasing the supply of local renewable energy and solar energy generation capacity, and is another important step as the city positions itself as a green energy leader.

As part of a pilot project last year, one set of solar panels exists on the rooftop of City Hall at 110 Laurier Ave. and another on top of the Transit Services Integrated Control Centre at 875 Belfast Rd.

Graphite Focus targets U.S.-Canada-Asia joint venture

Once formed, the alliance intends to develop patents and figure out global rights for applications of graphite, which is commonly used in steelmaking, solar panel manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries.

Focus stocks rose to $1.19 each on the Toronto Stock Exchange, up four cents.

“For the layperson, while diamonds are a coveted jewellery allotrope of carbon, graphene is very much the game-changing allotrope of carbon achieving recent accolades such as the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics,” stated Gordon Chiu, who was appointed to be the venture’s managing director and chief scientist.

“As a combination, it is potentially more applicable than copper because when graphene is mixed into plastics, the resultant material turns into a conductor of electricity while being more heat resistant and mechanically robust.”

The venture will be based in New York City. Beyond stating that detail, Focus did not disclose any financial details or when the agreement is expected to close.

According to Focus, the junior mining firm has one of the world’s highest concentrations of natural graphite at its property in Lac Knife, Que.

Solar Panels Agreement Approved by City Council in Ottawa

Yet another Ontario city takes a significant step towards a future defined by sustainable energy and more green jobs. On January 27, Energy Ottawa Limited, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa, was approved by the city council to install solar energy panel arrays on the rooftops of buildings in the city with large roof surfaces.

microFIT Statistics

The microFIT Program is designed for small renewable power projects that have a generating capacity of 10 kilowatts (kW) or less.
As of the end of the third quarter 2010, the OPA (Ontario Power Authority) had received 20,774 microFIT applications with a capacity of approximately 190 MW and 12,988 conditional offers had been made with a capacity close to 118 MW.  A total of 1,244 microFIT contracts had been executed with a capacity of 8.7 MW.  Nearly 100 percent of this capacity is for solar projects.

microFIT The microFIT Program is designed for small renewable power projects that have a generating capacity of 10 kilowatts (kW) or less.   As of the end of the third quarter 2010, the OPA had received 20,774 microFIT applications with a capacity of approximately 190 MW and 12,988 conditional offers had been made with a capacity close to 118 MW.  A total of 1,244 microFIT contracts had been executed with a capacity of 8.7 MW.  Nearly 100 percent of this capacity is for solar projects.

Solar Connection Configuration

Connection configurations
May 28, 2010

The OPA has received a response from Measurement Canada to its proposal to address in-series connection configurations. The OPA is now working with the Ontario Energy Board to implement a solution for in-series connections.

Although progress has been made, the OPA will not issue microFIT contracts for projects connecting in-series until a solution is in place and local distribution companies are permitted to connect these projects. At this time, we are not able to predict whether in-series connected projects will be permitted at a future date.

May 19, 2010

On May 19, 2010, Ontario Energy Board sent a letter to local distribution companies instructing them to stop in-series connections for FIT and microFIT projects because Measurement Canada will not recognize or support the in-series metering configuration.

As a result, in-series connections are no longer permitted under the FIT and microFIT Programs. FIT contract holders and applicants and microFIT applicants therefore must pursue other permitted options – in parallel and direct – for connecting their projects to the distribution system.

If you have already connected your contract facility using an in-series connection, stay tuned for further communication on this issue. The OPA is continuing to work with Measurement Canada to find a solution for existing in-series connections.

The OPA will agree to any contract termination request from FIT suppliers who determine that their project is not feasible or economic with an alternative connection scenario. The OPA will also agree to return any completion and performance security for contracts terminated under this circumstance.

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Gore Praises Ontario’s green movement.

Canada’s leadership on environmental issues represents an amazing potential for change,” according to Al Gore.

The former U. S. vice-president and green activist was keynote speaker at Tuesday night’s dinner gala at the Allstream Centre at Exhibition grounds.

Gore, who was expected to talk about the evolution of the clean economy and what it means for creating a sustainable future, congratulated Premier Dalton McGuinty for the province’s green energy program. He also praised Dr. David Suzuki, calling him a great leader of these issues.

The green energy program is widely recognized now as the single best green energy on the North American continent,” he told the crowd of several hundred.

Humour was not lost on the 45th vice-president. I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States,” he said as the crowd laughed. Now, I’m a recovering politician.”
The event comes at a time when the U. S. congress is considering a probe of whether prominent scientists who are advocates of global warming theories are fudging the truth about climate change. Last week,

computer hackers who got into the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in England leaked personal e-mails and documents in which researchers allegedly ridiculed dissenters and cheered the deaths of skeptical journalists. But Gore’s supporters at the dinner shrugged off the allegations. Sometimes we rely on people who are not always telling the truth, but that’s not anyone’s fault,” said Port Elgin green activist Victoria Serda, 36 It doesn’t matter who or where you are, there’s always going to be some corruption. There’s still substantive evidence we need to act as quickly as possible.”

Peter Schiefke, of Climate Project Canada, acknowledged that the incident makes it harder” for organizations like theirs to be taken seriously. It’s difficult enough, imagine the response these volunteers get in Alberta,” he said. The message is still getting out and you’re always going to have people criticizin