Report calls for Canada to build large-scale solar projects

Canada should focus on building mass utility-scale solar mega-projects to kickstart its green energy transition, according to a new report from Simon Fraser University’s Clean Energy Research Group.

The recommendation comes from a new paper published in the journal Solar Compass which looks at the current state of solar power and compares the benefits of both mass-scale projects and smaller, decentralized approached like individual homes and commercial buildings installing their own solar panels.

“Solar has major advantages over wind, geothermal and nuclear power as a renewable energy source,” says Anil Hira, director of the Clean Energy Research Group (CERG) and a professor of political science at SFU. “The cost for installing solar panels is has dropped dramatically in the last decade, by an estimated 90%, and is a vital part of energy plans in many countries, yet in Canada, that potential has barely been touched on.

“While solar power makes up approximately 4% of global electricity generation, it only accounts for 0.5% in Canada. Focusing on utility-scale solar projects could have a significant impact in parts of Canada, including British Columbia. Solar can help us to diversify our energy mix so we are not so reliant on hydro and reduces the intermittency problems with wind.”

The paper suggests that’s because much of the policy around solar power has focused on small-scale, decentralized residential and commercial generation. Those tend to be easy political wins for policy makers because it rewards individual and companies for investing in the technology for their own benefit and reduces land use headaches since panels are mostly being installed on existing buildings.

However, the authors argue that this approach doesn’t generate enough electricity to achieve a green transition, fragments the electricity system and raises equity concerns because not every area is suitable for solar power and wealthy homeowners and large companies are likely to be the only ones willing to make the long-term investments in panels and batteries. More plainly, costs for utility scale solar are approximately 64% cheaper than residential and 50% cheaper than commercial solar installations, on average.

Utility-scale projects come with their own challenges, including massive start-up costs, public and political opposition and the space required for vast fields of solar panels, but the report found that many of the land use concerns tend to be exaggerated and there is room for innovative solutions to support multiple uses for land where solar panels are installed. The benefits, they argue, far outweigh the challenges, including. In fact, the land area needed for solar to make a major contribution to our electricity mix is far less than one might think. The authors recommend using public lands for the mega-farms to reduce NIMBY effects.

The study points to a few examples of solar projects around the world, including the U.S.

The Solar Star project in California has 1.7 million panels spread across 13 kilometers and creates enough power for 255,000 homes (579 megawatts). The Mesquite Solar 1 Power Plan in Arizona provides 150 megawatts. It cost $600 million to build in 2013, with much of that coming from a $337 million loan backed by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Pro-active policy and financial backing from senior governments is needed to harness the potential to transition to clean energy, the report concludes.

“While different scales of deployment each have a role to play, from an efficiency-of-capital perspective, policies that favor the rapid deployment of utility-scale projects in optimal sunlight locations should be prioritized,” says CERG co-author Prasanna Krishnan.

“All of the factors together suggest the need for national policies to help ease the development obstacles of large-scale solar and storage farms, including sorely needed interconnection reform. Support for such efforts would have a transformative effect on our electricity systems.”