The Portlands Energy Centre, a natural gas generation plant to be built on Toronto’s harbourfront, is getting a green neighbour: a solar power plant. The “solar park” will use photovoltaic cell technology developed by U of T and ARISE Technologies.
When completed in late 2008, the solar park at the PEC, Canada’s largest, will generate a single megawatt of electrical power, or enough energy to power 1,000 homes. It’s not much compared to the 550 megawatts produced by the natural gas-powered PEC next door, but the park’s backers say it’s a strong boost for the profile of solar power.
“This installation will raise the visibility of the potential of solar energy, the largest source of sustainable energy for mankind,” said U of T photovoltaics professor Nazir Kherani. “Also, it will generate electricity without any pollution, truly sending the message that in time, we can significantly reduce, if not completely eliminate, fossil-generated power sources.”
“This is a large system and there are many issues and research topics in terms of integration of large generation of solar energy…in the power system, in this case the system of Toronto Hydro,” said U of T professor Reza Iravani. Students and professors will have access to the facility for research purposes, but the park will not house a research laboratory.
The new solar development takes advantage of a large tract of open land with southern exposure-ideal sun conditions for this part of Toronto. The PEC solar park and natural gas plant, to be completed by 2009, will be landscaped with 3,500 natural trees.
“I am delighted to see such projects come forth,” said Kherani, who acknowledged support from the Ontario government. The Liberals announced last year that their Standard Offer Contract will pay 42 cents for each kWh of solar electricity fed into the power grid.
“This will serve to drive the solar market in Ontario and Canada-noting that we are infants compared to the Japanese and Germans who lead the way in the deployment of solar energy systems.”
“This was something the community urged us to pursue,” said Ted Gruetzner of PEC. “We see renewable [energy] as the future of electricity production, and anything we can do to further education [in renewable energy] is to everyone’s benefit.”
