Rossland a solar mecca? Look Skyward...

By Andrew Zwicker

A new age of financially feasible renewable energy is dawning around the world as the combination of rising energy prices, increasing efficiency and sales volume of renewable energy options is bringing in a new crowd of customers to the market. In particular, solar energy has been making the leap from providing environmental peace of mind to being a prudent financial option.

In Rossland, Jeff Herr of Skyward Energy is setting up shop and looking to capitalize on the trifecta of financial and environmental sensibilities, the West Kootenay’s strong appetite for all things green and a strong solar source in our region.

Originally from Saskatchewan, Herr followed a story that is typical of many come-from-aways in our area.

“My attraction to Rossland was pretty obvious. The mountains, the rivers, the trails, the warmer winters… Every winter I’d take a trip out to the mountains to go skiing. I had always thought about moving and I figured well either I get my three weeks of holidays and drive to the mountains and back or I live out here in the mountains and get my three weeks to go back home. When you live here you get the best days on the hill, your gear's already set up and you're ready to go so I made the obvious choice.”

A mechanical engineer by trade, Herr spent his first two years in the region working for AMEC out of Trail. Like all entrepreneurs, however, there was that little voice inside of him that longed to take control of his own destiny and get into business doing something he truly loves and has a passion for.

That little voice grew louder and louder and ultimately Herr made the great leap from job security into the unknown wilds of entrepreneurship. As someone who gets fired up at the thought of doing something meaningful, something that truly makes the world a better place and something he can get behind and feel good about the world of being in business on his own has led to long yet satisfying hours in setting up his new venture.

Taking the necessary courses and education, Herr built on his growing passion for environmentalism and launched Skyward Energy as a fully qualified, local solar technology provider specializing in the design and install of grid-tied PV and solar hot water systems.

“I always had an interest in renewable energy. In 2006 I started becoming more aware and educated about Peak Oil,” explained Herr. “I watched a couple of documentaries and then started digging into it and realized the trouble we're in with the world and our economy being so tied to oil. Things are going to change, though, and I figure in 20 years the world is going to be a vastly different place – and I want to be part of that change.”

Bringing a strong understanding of the world energy picture, Jeff examined and investigated various renewable energy options out there before settling on solar.

“If you look at the various technologies out there, sure solar is expensive but it's coming down a lot and will continue to come down,” added Herr. “The key equation to look at though is the amount of energy it takes to create the panel and what it provides in a lifetime. In that equation, it's got some of the best returns in renewables. That's what really matters. When you talk about ethanol fuel production and hydrogen for example there is more fuel going in than there is coming out and that's a sure path to un-sustainability and bankrupting world economies.”

That equation is the very basis for what Peak Oil is all about. In a nutshell, Peak Oil is that tipping point when the world's maximum output of oil is reached, after which time output inexorably begins to decline.

Skyward has already got its first two projects off the ground in the Kootenays. The first was a solar hot water heating system in Rossland that came online this spring. Herr is particularly interested in solar hot water systems as their longevity, lack of maintenance and ability to reduce household energy bills by up to 60% make them a strong option for reducing our reliance on big utilities and their rising energy costs.

“The payback is longer at today’s energy prices, but energy prices are going up and up so that period is getting shorter and shorter. With the hot water system there are no moving parts so it's really awesome. The maintenance is little to none and it lasts for 30 plus years. I remember the first time I saw an inverter on a wall and it just shows watts and that's power being made through a big fat wire coming out of the inverter... totally silent, no moving parts just sitting there making power.”

A true practitioner of what he preaches, Herr is currently constructing his own home in Rossland which will ultimately be an ongoing experiment in new technologies. Starting with a 4kw grid tied PV (photovoltaic) system he expects to be living bill free in the near future. With that system in place as little as 5 hours of sunshine a day will provide an average homes electricity needs of around 15kwh/day.

Interestingly enough, Rossland, even with its snowy winters, is an ideal climate. Our solar resource in terms of hours of sunshine over the course of a year is very nearly on par with the likes of Kelowna and Grand Forks. On top of that, PV solar panels operate at higher efficiencies the colder it is and the higher altitude one is at. This is counter-intuitive to what many people would think.

Hot weather indeed is more desirable for solar hot water systems, but for electrical generation, PV panels increase in voltage half a percent per degree Celsius down. Typically, solar panels are rated at a standard testing condition of 20 degrees Celsius and 1000 watts per square meter brightness of sun. At higher elevation the watts per square meter increases with less atmosphere to go through allowing Rossland to benefit from our 1,100 meter elevation.

With all of the key indices seeming to trend locally in a positive direction, perhaps Rossland may soon be known as Canada’s solar city as opposed to Canada’s Alpine City? If Jeff has his way he’ll soon be converting houses all across the West Kootenay with solar systems, continuing on his path of making use of the most constant and reliable energy system we’ve got here on earth…The sun.