PV Gap

Roy Said:

Is Solar Power as effective in the North than in the South?

We Answered:

You get maximum solar power closer to the equator (actually you get maximum solar energy between the lines of the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn, over the course of the year the point that receives maximum solar energy drifts between these lines, a result of the earth's tilt on its axis). If you could use all the sunlight it is roughly 1 horse power / square meter at sea level near the equator and slightly lower(if the panels are tilted perpendicular to the light) at the poles. The difference in energy received is best explained by the inverse square law, which states that a physical quantity (radiant energy in this case) is inversely proportional to the square of the distance it has traveled. Keeping in mind the distance from the sun to the equator is almost insignificantly less than the distance from the sun to the north or south pole the total available energy is almost the same (always keeping the panels perpendicular to the light).
Local cloud and dust affects the efficiency of solar panels more than the latitude of the panels for total energy received over the course of a year. Heat, in theory, does not effect the efficiency of the solar panels very much, but in practice wide heat ranges do cut their efficiency.
The seasonal changes of available daylight is what make solar energy less effective at higher latitudes, but not less efficient.

Arnold Said:

Should the government invest along with the population of Canada invest in solar power?

We Answered:

we should it would be for the good of our beautiful country.... if we want to preserve our country from waste that clogs the sky we should invest in solar power.... the reason why its expensive is because the government isnt backing the idea of it and large companies are saying no because they are making large profits.... and large profits are good for the government becuase they get a piece out of it no questions asked.... solar power would be cheap and profitable only if the government backed the idea!

Ana Said:

can we use solar panels (photvoltaic) in Canada?

We Answered:

Some of the best observatories are in Alberta because the cold dry air is crystal clear. Humidity creates a hazy sky. True, the sunshine is at a severe angle but that just means the solar panels must be mounted at an angle which also helps with keeping the snow off the panels. The snow also reflects a lot of light (every hear of snow blindness) so in fact Canada is a great place for photovoltaics.

What makes you think that Canada wouldn't be a good place? Short days in winter means long days in summer so that can't be it. Long winters means clearer skies as the humidity is lower so that can't be it. Why would it be any more cloudy than any other country?

Max Said:

What renewable energy can use north countries? like Canada or north US cities?

We Answered:

A cold dry environment makes for a lot more sunshine. Cities such as Calgary have a large number of sunny days throughout the year. The electricity in BC is almost entirely hydro as with Quebec and Ontario.

The gasifiers and synthesis plants that were being built for the tar sands in Alberta could be modified to use trash and dried sewage as feed stock but I'm not thrilled with the idea of trucking all that trash and sewage there.

Not only are the best tidal power sites in the world along Canada's east coast but the Hudson and James bay focuses a lot of tidal power into northern quebec.

Canada has the safest pure civilian nuclear energy programs around which includes the research reactors SLOWPOKE and MAPLE which are the only reactors licensed for unattended operation in the world. The CANDU reactor can also burn spent fuel rods from other reactors and even natural uranium thereby bringing the radioactivity of the fuel down to levels that are found in nature and hence do not require special storage other than returning them to the mine. The CANDU reactor is the only large reactor design that did not have the production of bomb grade plutonium as an objective though as India has proven, could be modified against Canadian protests to do so.

The vast coastlines of Canada present many sites for microbial film fuel cells to extract energy from the anaerobic life in the sea floor.

Arthur C Clarke postulated that solar sails could be used to suspend a space platform not in orbit but in equilibrium between solar wind and gravitational forces over the poles so solar based power can be had from those non-standard "orbits". The polar region would be ideal for power transmission from space due to the magnetic field lines of the Earth.

As to Boston, the clam chowder is pretty good, traffic is horrible and they all talk funny.

Duane Said:

Solar Energy in Canada Ontario?

We Answered:

There are numerous places in Ontario to purchase solar panels and I imagine there are several where you live. I wouldn't worry about tracking panels in southern Ontario since they require energy that you intend to sell and the gain in electricity revenue is negated by the computer and motors to move the solar panels. In order to get the 80.2 cents the microFit project must be roof mounted and this adds considerable weight to the roof you are mounting the panels on.
I take it that since you said 10kw you are looking at getting into the micorFit program. I did a calculation yesterday for a 10 kw system in Barrie Ontario using fairly efficient (Peak Efficiency @ 14.1%) poly-Si - CS5P 240W panels from Canadian Solar. The project requires 41 - 240w panels and depending on the instillation would cost about $83640.00 cad.. The project requires a roof area of about 70 square metres on a preexisting building. In Barrie this setup should produce approximately 12.2 MWh / year with an annual gross return of $9747.00 with an additional annual income of $182.00 in carbon credits.

Payments per month should cover the cost of the equipment (talk to the bank) and maintenance is minimal just requiring the occasional cleaning.