The Toronto Star has a report about a grass roots initiative in Toronto that is ‘bringing solar power to the people’ (nice pun). It says it all started with the formation of RISE (Riverdale Initiative for Solar Energy) by local artist and graphic designer Ron McKay and a group of dedicated volunteers in 2006. The plan was to attract environmentally conscious homeowners interested in the bulk purchase and installation of electricity-generating (photo-voltaic) solar panels. A town hall meeting to describe the project and its benefits attracted more than 200 people and eventually resulted in the installation of 35 solar electric systems.
The project has spawned several other grass-roots initiatives, which are mentioned in the original article. But besides these initiatives, the City of Toronto is doing its share and developing a solar hot water project that will be unveiled next month. The Toronto Solar Neighbourhood Initiative is a pilot project for a planned city-wide expansion of the program by 2010.
And how does it work? “Solar systems heat water from panels or tubes on the roof before it goes into the hot water tank. A gas or electric supplementary heater is needed. Solar provides about 50 per cent of overall hot water that’s needed for the average family. If the solar heater is displacing energy from an electrical heater, the payback period is six to 13 years. If it’s displacing gas, payback is 12 to 20 years.”
