Canada''s Solar Demonstration Programs: Results And Implications For the Future
Authors: Cole Jack T. , Pnevmaticos Stelios M. 
Published: March 2010

Introduction

While many may think that Canada is too far north, and too cold a country to hope to have any realistic solar energy potential, it has in fact been in the solar business for many years. In spite of the fact that Canada is rich in many natural resources, there is a clear commitment to develop its renewable energy resources, including solar energy.

Renewable energy, excluding hydro-electricity, contributes currently about four per cent of Canada's energy supply. This amounts to about 400 PJ of energy and comes from previously photo synthetically captured solar energy: bio-energy. The combustion of wood residues by the Canadian forest industry and the use of firewood for residential space heating have increased dramatically during the last few years.

The direct solar potential in Canada is quite large. Solar radiation levels in several areas of the country match those in the southern U.S.A. The potential for solar energy was recognized over a decade ago when an R&D effort was initiated by the National Research Council. The primary emphasis was directed in solar thermal through the development of solar collectors. Other areas such as passive solar and photovoltaics have also been pursued.

This paper concentrates on Canada's past developments and its future programs in active solar energy.

Previous Programs

Major efforts in active solar thermal energy really picked up in 1978 when, largely in response to rapidly-increasing world oil prices, programs were instituted tQ increase solar R&D funding, develop a solar manufacturing industry, provide a market for this industry's products, and demonstrate solar applications to the public.

Nearly half of Canada's (with government and industry) expenditures on solar energy development over the past five years has been on research and development. Approximately 80 to 90% of the government's outlay for this work is contracted out to private industry. Only a small in-house staff is used to manage these contracts and do some limited laboratory work. This is consistent with over-all Canadian federal policy of contracting Out scientific research and development needs:product and industrial development andsystem trials with monitoring and analysis.

Among the many accomplishments in this area is the creation of one of the most advanced solar certification centres in the world-the National Solar Test Facility, operated under the auspices of the NRC near Toronto, Ontario.

In 1978 a program known as PASEM (Program of Assistance to Solar Energy Manufacturers) gave grants totalling Over $4 million to a selected group of ten companies to basically set up a manufacturing capability for solar energy products. A follow-on program to that one was then introduced: PUSH (Purchase and Use of Solar Heating), where the federal government procured and installed active solar heating systems on federally-owned buildings across Canada. This provided a ready market for the fledgling solar industry and accepted the high, initial risk associated with the as yet, untried products.

Other programs also were set up to subsidize the initial cost of active solar systems used by the private and commercial/ industrial sectors.