FAQs

Solar Outpost’s most Frequently Asked Questions

During our day to day operations, community presentations, trade shows and farm shows we’ve been asked almost every question in the book. Since it seems that these questions would fill a book we thought it would be beneficial to amass all these questions into one list below. We’ve broken the questions up into a couple of sections for ease of use. If you find that your question is not answered below or you would like more detailed information on your questions beyond what you find here please contact us. One of our major goals is to spread education regarding alternative energy solutions into the main stream and we can only do that with your help.

Wind Turbines

You will find that most of these questions deal within the province of Saskatchewan. Beyond the fact that we are based out of Saskatoon & Swift Current the provincial grants found within Saskatchewan (and only in Ontario elsewhere in Canada) really lend to improving the alternative energy sector within this province specifically. We do have experience with both Manitoba and Alberta and are more than happy to share this with you. If you are interested in wind turbines outside of Saskatchewan please contact us.

Within Saskatchewan you are allowed, per electrical meter, to have a maximum production capacity of 100 kW. That can be one large wind turbine or a combination of many projects (wind, solar, etc)

A: No. There is however a  very progressive capital cost allowance for business offered by the federal government as a tax incentive. This includes personal businesses (farming, etc.). The depreciation rate is 25% the first year and 50% every year afterwards.

A: Yes.
SaskPower and Saskatchewan Research Council offer you a 35% grant back on the total amount of your project (up to a maximum of $35,000). Initial application for this grant must be made prior to January 3, 2012 with the project being completed prior to August 31, 2012.  Our sales staff would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have , so please contact us for further information.

This grant does not apply if you decide to participate in the Small Power Producers program which allows you to sell your excess power to SaskPower at the wholesale rate. Please read next question for more details.

A: Yes and No.
There are two policies within Saskatchewan that govern alternative energy connected to the grid under 100kW. The first established policy is the Small Power Producers policy (SPP). The SPP dictates that you can have an alternative energy source connected to SaskPower’s grid and that SaskPower will purchase your extra power (the power that is not used by your site) that you put back onto the grid. This allows you to be paid for your excess power generation, however there are no grants associated with this policy to offset the start up costs associated with installing and connecting a solar array or wind turbine to Saskatchewan’s power grid. Power purchased from you by SaskPower is purchased at a wholesale rate, and not the retail rate at which SaskPower sells it to the consumer.
The Net Metering policy, which came out in October of 2007, is aimed at assisting consumers to off-set their own electricity bills. The Net Metering policy will not allow you to sell your excess power to the grid. However from your grid connection date you have a one year period where on days where you’re creating excess power (i.e. the wind is blowing and you’re not using all the energy your turbine is producing) that power can be banked as a credit on your electrical bills whereas on days when there might be no or very little wind you can pull your power credit off the grid without interruption. So long as this credit is used up within the one year period of grid connection you will be getting full value on that power. One of the most attractive parts of the Net Metering policy is that SaskPower, coupled with the Saskatchewan Research Council, will offer you a 35% grant back on the total amount of your project (up to a maximum of $35,000). For many people, depending on the project, this means more than five years of free power!

A: The answer to this question is completely dependent on what you use at your site. The best way to find out the optimal size for a wind turbine at your farm/ acreage/ home/ seed plant etc. is to take a look at your annual electricity bills for the last two years. This will give you the best idea of what you’re using now and of any growth that’s happened recently. Once you have this information then we take into account where you are located in the province. The wind available in your area will dictate the amount of power you will gain out of any wind turbine. So to figure out what size of a turbine will offset your bills we need your last annual bill and your location within the province. Once this information is given we can take a look at what kind of system would fit best to A – do all of your power or B – do as much power as we can within your budget.

This being said our 10kW Ventera turbine is a great fit for most acreages and small farms. We’ve used multiples of this unit to help power seed plants as well.

A: Over the past couple of years we have been meeting with many cities and RMs around Saskatchewan to address the issues that come up when deciding the bylaws that are associated with wind turbines. Height, noise, and visual impact tend to be the biggest concerns for any community. These questions become especially pertinent when a residentially zoned area within a community comes into question. The best answer is found by approaching your RM/ city with the information about the project you are interested in and getting their response. We often do community meetings to explain the project that our customers are planning to go forward with to help everyone understand it and to deal with any misconceptions or questions from step one.

A: Yes. There is a Pre-Site Integration Study that needs to be completed for you to connect to SaskPower’s grid. This study is currently $300 (plus GST). That is the only fee that you pay for SaskPower to do the study to make sure your location is acceptable to connect the project you’re proposing. The second fee you pay is to cover the cost of SaskPower coming out and switching your meter to a bi-directional meter. This applies to both the Net Metering program and the Small Power Producers program. This cost is generally between $300 – $700.

A: Not under the Net Metering program. SaskPower will only allow you to use the power generated by an alternative energy source at the meter it is connected too.

A: Generally speaking we like to be 20 ft above anything within 350 ft of the turbine. This will allow the wind energy to access the turbine fully and will also reduce the friction against the turbine. Somewhere between 50 and 100 ft is generally sufficient but this again depends on your particular site. Obstacles for the wind are the biggest thief of energy production. For more information please contact us or take a look at this document put together by the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

Geothermal Systems

A: Yes. If you are in Saskatchewan and are not currently using natural gas there is $3500 available from the provincial government to retro-fit your home to a geothermal system. If you have natural gas currently and are wanting to move to a geothermal system please contact us for information on the grants available to you.

A: Yes! Actually this grant has only been available from December of 2008 so is still quite new. The Energy Efficient Rebate for New Homes is responsible for offering a $3500 provincial grant to homeowners who chose to install a geothermal system into their new home. This grant is only available if

1. Your new home is EnerGuide 80 rated or is built by a Certified R2000 builder.
2. You have a new home that does not currently have access to natural gas and it costs you over $9000 to bring natural gas into your home.
3. If your home does have access to natural gas (for less than $9,000) you must also install an alternative energy source (wind, solar etc) to offset the extra electricity your geothermal system will use in order to receive the grant.

A: Yes. There are multiple ways to do the installation of the ground loops. Horizontal is the most common because it is the least expensive. Vertical ground loops are also another form of installation. This installation is generally about $2300 more than the horizontal installation but doesn’t disturb as much of the surrounding area. Lake/ Pond loops are another option for geothermal installation which is generally similar in cost to horizontal loops but offers the highest heat transfer efficiency available. Open loops are another type, although uncommon, of geothermal loop installation.

A: No. Solar Outpost always sizes the geothermal system so that it can do 100% of the heating and cooling for your building all year round (based on Saskatchewan’s climate). That being said all GeoSmart geothermal systems come with an emergency electrical back-up heating system that will only engage if there is a failure of your geothermal system (i.e. compressor).

Did you know that the Canadian Geo-Exchange Coalition only requires us to provide 70% of your heat loss through the geothermal system? Why we provide 100% of the heat is because we live here. We know how cold it is. To only size your system to 70% is irresponsible. Make sure the geothermal company you work with is sizing your geothermal system for 100% of your heat load. We have met customers that have had this other 30% made up by having their geothermal installer set the electric element as a 3rd stage heat. THIS WILL NOT SAVE YOU MONEY.

A: 200 amp generally. This is because the geothermal system has two breakers. The most common sizes are one 50 amp and one 40 amp. The 40 amp is for the geothermal system whereas the 50 amp is for the emergency electrical backup. These two will never be in operation at the same time however, because of the electrical code it is necessary to have a service that is big enough to run both (and the rest of your home). Depending on the size of home (and therefore the size of geothermal system your home needs) these sizes could be different. We will provide you with this information!

A: Yes. However it is only possible to do the air-conditioning with a forced-air or fan coil system. The in floor heating systems cannot be reversed to do the cooling as they will make your floor sweat and possibly ruin the flooring.

A: Yes.

A: Yes. There are two main types of solar panels on the market. The panels that are used to create electricity are called solar photo voltaic panels. Panels to create hot water are called solar thermal panels.

A: Yes. Just as with wind turbines you can have a large enough solar Photo voltaic (herein after called solar PV) array to create all of the energy your home will need.

A: This depends on how much power you use at your site. If you use $100 worth of power a month at your site here in Saskatchewan that means that you need approximately $1200 worth of power produced in a year. As the average Saskatchewan resident pays between $.09 – $.011 for every kW of power your power usage of $1200 means you use approximately 12,000 kWhs in a year. Depending on where you live here in Saskatchewan you will need between a 9kW and a 7.3 kW solar PV system to create all of the power you use in a year. For grid tied systems we generally work with panels around the 230watt range. These panels are approximately 3′ x5′ in size. This means that for a 7.3kW system you will need 32 of these panels which will take up approximately 480 sq ft of space.

A: Yes. There are two ways of approaching this. Using solar PV panels you could create all the electricity you would need to run electric heat within your home. The other way (and what most people mean when they ask this question) would be to use solar thermal panels to create hot water which you would then use withing your home through infloor heating or fan coil applications. This is not the most efficient way to heat your home. Why? When you need heat you have the least amount of sunlight – during the winter and at night. To have enough heat generated from solar thermal panels to keep your home warm during the often long and cold Saskatchewan winters you are talking about a very large investment of solar thermal panels as well as large storage tanks within your home. Even after these investments it is prudent to have back up systems (electric elements) available in case of emergency. So after all of that we then have the problem of your excess hot water availability in the summer. We have completed systems like this in the past. For more information on how this system may be able to be incorporated for you please contact us.