Co-op's solar plans move ahead

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

by PAT CURRIE

AGRI Solar Co-operative Ltd., a 400-member organization with solar panels on 725 locations in an arc running from Windsor northeast to Huron County, is busy installing "five to 10 units each week and connecting them with the (Ontario electricty) grid, AGRI Solar general manager Andrew Clark said Thursday.

It was announced at the co-op’s annual meeting in Chatham recently that its $66-million construction project is now in full swing, aimed at connecting all 750 sites to the provincial grid this fall, Clark said. The units are being installed under Ontario’s micro Feed-in Tariff program that buys up to 10 kilowatts of power from small renewable energy providers.

Each site contains an array of 54 solar panels that capture energy from the sun and turning it into electric power. That power will be sold to Ontario Hydro One at 64 cents per kilowatt hour, a drop of 16 cents from the rate first established by the Ontario government but cut back a year ago. The lower price is still enough to provide the owner of each site with an income estimated at $3,700 a year together with a $1,500 annual lease payment, he said.

Those who obtain a contract with Hydro One and pay $20,000 to join the co-op "just sit back and let the money roll in," said Clark.

"We do everything else for them," he said, adding that AGRI Solar now is the largest manager in Ontario of microfit solar installations.

Clark said the co-op’s goal is to reach a total of 1,000 members. BF