WE DID OUR HOMEWORK
click here - IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS, FIRE ETC.
Also be aware in certain jurisdictions fire insurance is no longer available and likely will
find its way here into BC.
Building inspectors and Emergency responders pay attention to the setback requirements on roof systems, for example these DO NOT exist for the present Balfour community buildings, especially the Community Hall.
BE AWARE in case of emergency/fire, shutting off the building power or solar still leaves
LETHAL voltages on the roof in sunshine. There are techniques for fire departments, training and
other aids that will and should be trained in case of emergencies/fires.
The recently announced new offering of $900,000 in CBT grant funding for community alternate energy systems will likely result in more community building solar systems
Information for fire fighters click here
The title "we did our homework" comes from an email to me from the RDCK director Ramona Faust.
I was aware she was pursuing solar power grants and asked her to contact me so I could go over the bids.
Next thing I knew Balfour had solar systems on the Community Hall, Seniors Centre and Golf clubhouse. My email to her registered my disappointment, her reply "we did our homework".
The Community Hall plus the Seniors Centre solar systems have made 7MWh since installed in July, not enough for ONE house. BC Hydro stat....the avg home uses 11mWh/yr greenwashers wasting our public money. From Oct through Feb they made 2.8MWh - 4 months =25% of one avg homes annual use
UPDATE as of Mar 17/2019 TOTAL POWER FROM ALL THREE SYSTEMS ABOUT 20MWH
22MWH WOULD POWER 2 AVERAGE HOMES. Nelson hydro would make that power for
about $400, or $50/mo. You have likely spent $250,000 or business case borrowed money over 25 years payments of $1250/mo. Grants don't make unaffordable projects affordable it just changes who pays. Grants are NOT free money!!!!!!!!!!!
You hurt us all Ramona, you got involved with the Pembina Institute. Society has lost the grant money to far greater priorities than your misguided misinformed greenwashing solar bull$hit. They are dangerous people, zealots. And Dandelion Renewables is riding their wave to the bank selling you solar systems taking our public money.
Phoney grant applications created by salesmen, showing a profit To qualify the grant application states they must show a positive return. Pembina came up with a positive return.
Let me analyze how the Community Hall system is doing now that we have six months of data.
So far its made 4.2MWh of power, Nelson hydro makes that for $84 and sells for a huge profit.
RDCK show the cost estimate at $157,130.00 for the Golf club and community hall.
Extrapolating $/watt for different sized systems I arrive at about $67,000 for the Community hall.
For 18.3kW installed thats $3.70/watt possible, Skyfire of Calgary was at $4.77/watt the Nelson solar garden well over $6.60/watt but everything about that was a fail. Another of the RDCK system reports shows $2.76/watt installed, I don't believe that one, but these are solar salesmen.
Borrowed money business case over 25 years (the systems won't last that long) is monthly payments of $335/mo or $2010/6 mo. for power Nelson hydro makes for $84/6 mo.
THE SOLAR SALESMEN - used car salesmen could learn from these people.
Since being installed in the end of July the Community Hall has made 4.2MWh, for six months.
The Sales info said 15.3MWh/yr. You have the next six months to make the other 11MWh.
The Pembina Institue of Edmonton, did the RDCK report. Read about the Pembina Institute scammers Dave Lovekin of Pembina spoke at an earlier Nelson community solar garden meeting saying half our power comes from coal. My opinion of the Pembina Institute....zealots who will take every nickel of public money for their greenwashing agenda. They claim to have done dozens of systems, how do they get the costs and power estimates so wrong?
Two Alberta companies bid for the Balfour project, Skyfire Energy of Calgary lost.
I question the connection between Pembina of Edmonton and Dandelion of Edmonton.
Did the RDCK pick up on the bids where Dandelion Renewables seemed to have solar panels that work 30% better than Skyfire Energy solar panels??? Their claim of estimated annual solar power made and therefore value exceed years of all real local data. Skyfire also showed reasonable installation at $4.77/watt, Dandelion showed a little over $3/watt. Dandelion exaggerated annual power made. Skyfire didn't exaggerate. Dandelion got the job.
What I read from the RDCK report and what is installed is slightly different. The report says 16.8kW of solar panels with micro inverters. Cheaper string inverters are installed and the news articles say 60 305 watt panels for total of 18.3kW installed.
I am almost certain 305 watt panels are installed. They should have stayed with micro inverters.
Cheaper String inverters are like christmas tree lite strings where one bulb burns out they are all out, now figure out which is burned out. I don't know how many strings make up the Community Halls 60 panel system, if one panel in a string is shaded or snow covered they are all affected.
So just how much power are these systems making after 6 months?
Compared to two other local solar systems the Balfour Community Hall is making almost 40% less power. Why? defective panels? less sunshine in Balfour? substandard panels? who knows?
MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE
With micro inverters you can identify the underperforming panel or shaded panel etc. right on the computer display. With 60 panels on the community hall and how many strings? Find a bad panel, good luck. Did you get accurate wiring diagrams so someone has at least some knowledge or will you bring people in from Alberta to fix any problems?
String Inverters typically last 10 years, how much will that cost in future, how much downtime will happen, how might they underperform for months before anyone knows?
FIRE INSURANCE
As solar panels become more prolific, insurance companies in some jurisdictions are already creating premiums for anyone with solar panels, they are causing leaky roof claims, fires etc.
SUMMARY
Your house of cards economics from the Pembina Institute depends on Nelson hydro paying full retail for any of your excess solar power.
From the Nelson hydro bylaw:
Rates paid for electricity will be subject to the approval of the Nelson Hydro General Manager and will be determined based on economic benefit to Nelson Hydro.
Since there is NO economic benefit, will Nelson hydro honor this? They might have to look the other way they are already getting Nelson hydro customers to pay full retail for their Nelson Community Solar Garden.....it has absolutely NO economic benefit.
Between the Pembina Institute and Dandelion Renewables of Edmonton, they took our money and we got nothing of value. Yes, public grant money and Nelson hydro customers are now subsidizing some amount of Balfour public buildings electric bills. CBT has $900,000 in grant money for more public building energy systems. Its not much yet, but keep this up, Nelson hydro won't be making a profit from selling cleaner greener waterpower and your pocket will be picked for these feelgood grant solar systems and your hydro bill will subsidize their power.
Go to the on line public data there is something wrong. See if you can figure it out.
It makes the system appear to make up to 33% more power than is actually made.
Intentional? I am sure Pembina and Dandelion are thinking- they will never figure this out!
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| Balfour solar systems installed by Alberta company |
Plus the feelgood Nelson community solar garden and who knows what is coming next from the CBT $900,000 grant money for community energy systems.
We don't need solar power after spring runoff into high summer water levels, water is spilling over every dam unused. Its in winter our reservoirs, batteries, begin to draw down we could use solar power, it doesn't work.
The Nelson community solar garden 60kW, from Oct to Mar made power for ONE house.
Balfour 3 community buildings 67kW total, is making even less power, about 30-40% less.
The Community Solar Garden cost $400,000, who really knows how much the Balfour systems cost?
Possibly the same, how can we afford nearly $1M to make power for maybe two houses?
Its about Capacity Factor, hydro works 24/7/365, capacity factor is 100%. Solar data and BC Hydro stats say solar capacity factor is 10%, and most of that is in summer when we don't need it.
Who puts in any power plant that works intermittently, not at night, or in the rain, or clouds or winter effective capacity factor maybe 3% of the time?
You solar zealots are dangerous to our economic health!
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Was it necessary to replace the Community Hall metal roof or was it because the penetration necessary to hold solar panels create risk of leaks? |
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| The new was it $16,00 or $12,000 Asphalt roof is more amenable to solar mounting systems Since July installation 6 months ago this has made 4.2MWH the average home uses 11MWH per year (BC Hydro statistic) Do you think this will make 11MWh by the time the first year is up in July? solar greenwashing fantasy from greenwashers who waste our money!!!! |
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| There are 60 panels, apparently 305 watts each total 18.3kW With string inverters that act like christmas strings where one bulb fails they all fail, you have String inverters. Good luck figuring out which panel has failed or is underperforming, because every panel in that string cannot make any more power than the worst one. The Nelson Community Solar garden 60kW the city admits to $339,00, they aren't including the security cameras, stolen copper, stolen solar panels, likely the power pole and transformer and who knows what else.....I estimate $400,000. The 3 Balfour community solar systems 67kW total, larger than the solar garden what was the real total cost for this? How can this be stopped? Nelson hydro sells clean green waterpower for a profit, and public money competes with this putting in feelgood solar power systems while income otherwise earned from waterpower spills down the river with the profits. Nelson hydro customers pay full retail for the solar garden power so that money is distributed among the 130 who paid a token price for a solar panel for their warm fuzzy feeling to save the planet and any excess Balfour solar power Nelson hydro pays full retail. Insanity. click below Dangerous people |
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