With $80 dollar a barrel oil seeming reasonable the world is scrambling for alternatives. Solar is a hot ticket nowadays especially here in Cornwall Ontario. Recently The Heart of the City held a breakfast meeting to discuss some very interesting opportunities.
Dr. Sudhanshu Varma and Dr. Raye Thomas of Supan Technologies said the city could look at incorporating a photovoltaic (PV) solar system into the new multi-sports centre or the existing water purification plant or Cornwall Transit office on Second Street — all of which are in close proximity to the Domtar transformer.
A 10-kilowatt PV solar system would cost about $92,000 to install, they said, and the sale of electricity from the unit would generate as much as $9,600 per year over a 20-year period. That means the system would pay for itself within 10 years or so, and it would begin to generate profits after that.
The group — known as PV Canada Inc. — used the cash to buy an in-depth study from Supan which outlines the science behind solar energy and the market potential and manufacturing opportunities for solar panels.
Finucan and his group are continuing the work of turning their concept into a sound business case that could attract a combination of private investors and government grants.”
This is a hot ticket not just in Cornwall. By creating the system of purchasing off grid power Ontario is creating a whole new industry for companies to provide the products needed to manifest the power. There’s even a new start up here in Cornwall (PV Canada Inc.) which probably be in line if an experiment moves forward.
Video Excerpts of Presentation
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLa9iD6CWQ
As you can see from the Solar Plane above there are a lot of emerging potential benefits for going solar. Research dollars are starting to pour in as China seeks to become a leader in Solar power and other technologies are developed too.
“Researchers at UC Berkeley have hacked tobacco plants to grow synthetic photovoltaic cells which can then be extracted and sprayed onto any substrate to create solar cells.
How? The scientists tweaked a few genes within the tobacco mosaic virus to build tiny structures called chromophores. Once the plant is sprayed with the virus, the new chromophores will group into tightly coiled formations. Chromophores are structures that turn light into high powered electrons.
While they aren’t as efficient as silicon cells, they are a lot more eco-friendly. Along with being biodegradable, no environmentally toxic chemicals are required to make biologically derived solar cells. And probably most important, they’re very very cheap!”
Maryland aims for 100,000 green homes.
For those looking to work in the Green Boom there are even training schools evolving. Here is a story linked to some of them.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONilIGNjfrg
As David Rawnsley suggested in the last Federal Election there are opportunities that Cornwall and the area can grasp to turn it into the Green capital of Eastern Ontario if not even Canada.
What do you think Cornwall? Is Solar Power a solution and would you consider it for your home or business? Feel free to post your comments below and please visit our amazing local sponsors:
