Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much.

Natural Resources committee  Exactly.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. I always say myself that solar is always integrated with another technology. If you try to size solar to supply 100% of demand, you're probably over-sizing and you have too much investment for nothing. The best, again, is an energy mix. It could be supplied with extra fossil fuel or a gas-fired system--it's always the case, anyway.

Natural Resources committee  We certainly could.

Natural Resources committee  If we compare the solar energy lobby in Canada—if there is such a thing—to the lobbies for conventional sources of energy, you can only burst out laughing. So that is a first point. Have I taught you anything about solar energy this afternoon? I imagine I have. This option is not being considered by Canada at the moment.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, but once again, I come back to the cost of producing the energy. For the next 20 years, the system would produce energy at a cost of 5 to 6¢ per kilowatt/hour, which is less than the cost of electricity. It would not be unreasonable to say that the time required to recover the investment is 10 years.

Natural Resources committee  That can be done in some provinces.

Natural Resources committee  To make it something that you see on every street, right now, for research and development, I would say you need zero dollars. That being said, I wouldn't put nothing for new technology development in Canada; I certainly would, but research and development is not where we are at right now, as we were in 1975.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, exactly. Again, you're right, it's how much the product is being sold. But because the consumer needs to outlay the initial money, and because energy prices are not that high in Canada, what you call the payback is long. But the cost of energy production, again, with solar is lower.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. If someone says that it cannot be adapted, that is because they don't want to adapt it. Something can always be done.

Natural Resources committee  All those options exist. Storing energy can often extend the payback. The technology I am talking about is solar collectors installed in homes with no storage capacity. The energy produced costs 5, 6 or 7¢ per kilowatt/hour. In Canada, we need a lot of electricity and heat over the long winter season.

Natural Resources committee  The panels are guaranteed for 25 years and require almost no maintenance. Since they have no moving parts, they make no noise. In addition, they do not produce any smoke or anything else. The same goes for air collectors. The famous Solarwall collectors or other types of air collectors require no maintenance.

Natural Resources committee  The obstacles are not technical in nature. Some programs need to be reviewed and better funding is required. The Canadian government could provide support by offering some funding. The length of time required to recover the investment is long, but, as I said before, the cost of producing energy with no subsidy is lower than the cost of producing electricity or natural gas.

Natural Resources committee  That is a reasonable assessment.

Natural Resources committee  When you produce a gigawatt hour of energy with solar, you have to produce a new panel; you don't have to burn more fuel. You don't add a job by adding nuclear nuggets or more coal into your plant. The plant has been built. If you want to add capacity with solar, you want to have more panels.