NEW WESTIMINSTER, WHAT MADE YOU THINK NELSON KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING?
CAPACITY FACTOR
If you understand CAPACITY FACTOR you will know more
about the economics of solar power in BC than all the experts and you won't waste another penny of public money on it
Capacity Factor - CF If a hydro electric plant runs 24/7/365 its CF is 100%.
BC Hydro in their calculations allows a CF of 10% for Solar.
In its first year the Nelson Community Solar garden CF was 11%
From October through March the Nelson community solar garden CF was 2.3%.
A $400,000 waste for feelgood political philosophical solar while the same power would have been made from cleaner greener waterpower now spilling down the river. It was pitched as fully funded by those opting in, 130 bought in for 25 year contracts for the power of a panel, paid for by picking the pockets of all Nelson hydro customers paying full retail for this power so those buying in could get their warm fuzzy feeling to save the planet. Little did they know that the solar garden power is dirty power, adding to this cities carbon footprint. NOTHING is greener or cleaner than our own waterpower now spilling down the river with the profits while we pay for this nonsense. Only 24 more years to go.
Most solar power is made in summer as worthless as the excess water spilling over the dam.
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When we really need solar power it doesn't work, that is why we have hydro reservoirs our batteries for winter power.
Little more than 2% of all annual Nelson solar garden power was made when we could use it as our reservoirs were being drawn down, and we were buying excess waterpower from Fortis because Nelson hydro couldn't supply all our power.
Nelson is the only city in western Canada with its own hydroelectric generation
and distribution, we sell clean green waterpower for a profit helping to reduce costs.
We also make a huge profit selling excess waterpower bought wholesale from Fortis in winter.
BELOW NELSON GETS AN AWARD FOR THE SOLAR GARDEN
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| left to right Alex Love PEng Mgr. of Nelson hydro mayor and councils expert who brought council a business case for solar Carmen Proctor, solar contractor, no known previous solar work now Nelson hydro management Out going Mayor Kozak, holding award given at the UBCM Trish Dehnel Community Energy, |
130 including churches, co-ops and schools bought solar panels getting a 25 year contract for the power of a panel for about half the real cost of a panel. Nelson hydro customers pay the rest and all future costs and full retail for the solar power so that money is distributed to those who bought a panel. First year each panel made about 250kWh, our dam makes that for about $4 more than $3 of that was made in summer when we didn't even need the waterpower. So Nelson hydro customers paid $25 per panel for something worth $1. We only have 24 years left in their contract.
At a public city meeting I asked the manager of Nelson hydro what makes the solar garden power green? (everyone thinks its green). His reply "Nobody said it was green".
Fortis said it best before the Kelowna solar project was denied by the BC Utilities Commission
their statement "it will be a challenge when the economics of solar become known by the public".
They are a business, not into warm fuzzy greenwashing feelgood political projects..
The BCOAPO (old age pensioners) submission to that project said all costs and risk were going to be borne by the ratepayers from something that has no benefit to anyone, with no resulting GHG reduction. Nothing is greener or cleaner than our own waterpower. Unless you can avoid the burning of some non renewable like coal in a conventional power plant, which cannot happen here, solar is dirty power increasing the provincial carbon footprint.
Solar can never be any part of BC becoming all renewable by 2030, 40 or whatever fantasy number has been chosen
New Westminster, you thought Nelson knew what they were doing? I was sending this info to your people, a testament to how difficult it is to stop this waste of public money. Now you have done the very same thing, except BC Hydro (owned by all BC residents) is subsidizing it. Thankfully BC Hydro applied to the BCUC to no longer pay for anyone's solar power effective immediatly but unfortunatly not in time to save you from yourselves.
What could Nelson have done? What can the rest of BC do?
Nakusp put microhydro on their city water intake, power for 50 homes, dependable, clean, reliable good for a century, solar lasts maybe 25 years panels make less power every year with age.
Lake country microhydro power for 400 homes good for a century or more.
Locally we are approaching $1M in public money for solar projects, effective power good for maybe 2 homes, summer solar, when almost all is made, is worthless, these will be technological dinosaurs as they age and become toxic waste.
When will this waste of public dollars for solar in BC end? With education, I couldn't stop it in Nelson, fortunatly the BCUC stopped Kelowna, Balfour locally just received a CBT grant for solar. I didn't know the CBT grant staff changed. I did have the previous ones educated when Nelson applied for a $60,000 solar grant, I believe it was due to my intervention.
Nelson has a gravity water system, with 11 water pressure reducing stations, you can make microhydro power and reduce water pressure at the same time, they have one ready to go.
Above is the 7 km long Nelson primary water line almost 100 years old, the engineering shows two potential microhydro power locations, that would help pay for the pipe, this isn't getting any younger, we got solar panels at the dam????? We have microhydro potential on another secondary source. The original plan was for 3 solar gardens!
How about this water turbine these have a potential Capacity Factor of 100%, reliable, dependable, working at nite, in rain, snow, clouds, why are we wasting money on solar with an effective CF of 2%? unreliable, undependable, intermittent doesn't work at night, in winter, rain etc.
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