A new report put out by the Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) at Simon Fraser University is appealing Canada to take lead in large-scale solar power endeavors as a means of catalyzing the country’s use of green energy. With the report released in the journal Solar Compass, it shows advantages of large utility-scale solar establishments compared to decentralized small settings, such as installation on individuals’ homes or commercial areas.
Anil Hira is the director of CERG and professor of political science at SFU and he describes how, compared to the other renewables, such as wind, geothermal, and nuclear power, solar energy offers advantages. According to him, the cost for installing a solar panel fell by almost 90% within the last ten years, thereby making it an important constituent of many countries’ energy strategies. However, it generates just 0.5% of Canada’s electricity, well below the global average of 4%. Hira believes that large-scale solar projects could have a transformative impact, especially in provinces like British Columbia, to diversify Canada’s energy mix and reduce reliance on hydroelectric power. Solar energy can also mitigate some of the intermittency issues related to wind power.
The report argues that with this current policy focus, whereby Canada is concentrating more on small-scale, decentralized solar systems such as home and commercial installations, its capacity to undertake a great energy transition has been hindered. These projects are often politically popular, with a lesser concern about land usage, but do not constitute enough electricity to create a sustainable green transition. Moreover, these decentralized approaches may worsen the equity issue because the suitability of solar power does not match all areas, and high costs usually limit investment to richer individuals and large corporations.
Utility-scale solar power plants are about 64% cheaper than residential-sized systems and 50% cheaper than commercial-sized projects. These projects have been encumbered by high capital costs, political opposition, and land-use concerns, but the report here claims that these issues have been overstated. Innovative ideas such as multi-use land plans can alleviate many of these issues. The study also concludes that large-scale solar farms can be located on public lands to reduce opposition.
Examples of global solar projects, including California’s Solar Star project and Arizona’s Mesquite Solar 1 Power Plant, demonstrate the scale and feasibility of utility-scale solar. The report urges proactive policy and financial support from the federal government to facilitate the rapid deployment of large-scale solar and energy storage systems that can dramatically transform Canada’s electricity landscape.