Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the committee today.
I wish to discuss the role and the challenges of implementing solar energy as a renewable energy source of thermal energy, sometimes referred to as “green heat”.
In Canada, energy use in the residential and commercial sectors accounts for approximately one-third of the nation's energy consumption, and contributes roughly the same fraction of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 70% of this energy consumption is used for space and water heating. In 2010 this represented 20% of the country's total secondary energy use.
In Canada, low-grade heat for building space and water heating has traditionally been supplied by conventional energy sources. However, solar thermal technologies are particularly well suited to supply a portion of these loads.
It is also acknowledged that renewable or non-renewable conventional energy sources come with a substantial environmental and health cost, in part due to greenhouse gas emissions. The use of solar energy will reduce the consumption of conventional fossil fuels and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. For example, a single-family solar domestic hot water system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately one tonne of CO2 per year. For one-third of the 7.3 million single-detached houses in Canada, this would represent approximately 2.4 megatonnes of CO2 emissions eliminated each year, and even more if a portion of the space heating load were displaced.
Many parts of Canada receive higher levels of solar radiation than much of central Europe, where solar energy is widely used. For example, in Germany solar thermal is used for domestic hot water heating. In Austria it's used for combined hot water and space heating. In Denmark it is used to supply heat to communities through district heating systems.
Increasingly it is used to supply air conditioning and cooling. Worldwide over 200 million households use solar hot water collectors.
Solar thermal has been used in virtually all regions of Canada for the past 30 years, and has become well developed and a proven technology. Canadian technology is world class, and has produced many achievements, including a low-cost building integrated solar air heating technology used worldwide; packaged micro-flow solar domestic hot water systems suitable for Canadian use; and the Drake Landing Solar Community, located south of Calgary, which stores solar heat collected during the summer for use in winter. Last year 97% of this community's space and water heating energy requirements were provided by Canadian solar thermal technology. In 2011 this project was selected from more than 6,000 entries from 161 countries, and awarded the prestigious international Energy Globe Award. In addition, national standards and product certifications for solar heating hardware have been established.
However, the implementation of these technologies faces significant challenges in the marketplace. In the past, the solar industry has suffered frequent setbacks due to the volatile market pricing of conventional energy and the lack of a consistent policy for the use of solar energy in Canada. Other jurisdictions around the world have set targets for the implementation of solar energy. For example, the European Union, through the renewable energy directive, has set mandatory national targets for achieving a 20% share of renewable energy by 2020.
In the past Canadian incentive programs have been temporary and have often left the industry susceptible to volatile market swings in conventional energy. Most recently, in January 2012, the federal government's subsidy for solar hot water systems under the ecoENERGY home retrofit program, which was matched by provincial grants, was closed. Coupled with the sudden oversupply of low-cost natural gas and a downturn in the economy, many manufacturers and suppliers were unable to compete and saw their markets decline in many regions of the country.
The economic viability of renewable energy systems is particularly sensitive to the cost of competing energy sources. Without price stability in the marketplace, it is extremely difficult to support a decision to invest in renewable energy.
When considering an energy source, it's important to consider all the costs associated with the extraction and distribution of this energy, as well as the environmental and social costs. For example, fracking technology has contributed to extremely low natural gas prices, but recently the viability of this technology and its environmental impact have been questioned. A glut of low-cost natural gas can have a devastating effect on the solar heating industry, hindering the development of a viable renewable energy sector and discouraging energy conservation and energy efficiency.
I believe that Canada has demonstrated that it has the potential to be a world leader in renewable energy technologies and that a strong Canadian solar industry can be established if meaningful targets for renewable energy use are implemented.
Therefore, I would propose that Canada establish targets for the use of renewable energy resources within the energy supply mix, encourage the use of renewable energy through incentive programs that help to lower costs to early adopters and provide a sustained market growth to support cost reductions, and quantify the environmental costs and impacts of various energy sources used by Canadians and establish a pricing structure that reflects these costs.
Finally, solar thermal energy offers diversity of supply, energy security, and environmental sustainability. Canadians have invested in the infrastructure needed to utilize it. However, if the current market trends continue it is likely that solar thermal will disappear from Canada, leaving Canadians susceptible to future energy increases. The loss of this industry and its technical expertise will also leave Canadians out of the worldwide green technology economy.
Thank you for your attention.