Photovoltaic Glass (BIPV) | Solar windows

Dandelion Renewables is completing one of Edmonton’s first Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) installations at Dominion Hotel on Whyte Avenue, Edmonton. We were contracted by Beljan Developments to retrofit the existing skylights with solar PV glass to offset some of the building’s electrical consumption. Seven 2.5m x 1m sealed amorphous glass units each capable of generating 100W for a total 700W of solar were supplied by the Spanish company, Onyx, the world leaders in photovoltaic glazing supply. The existing old skylight reached the end of life and needed replacement. PV glass option costs came close to the cost of the regular glass skylight and it was economical for the developer to go with this solar generation option.

Since the electrical equipment such as inverters and breakers were already being installed, Dandelion Renewables found it was economical to boost the production of the system by installing a small flat roof ballasted PV system in addition to the PV glass, making for a total capacity of 4.7kW. We learned a unique blend of skills and equipment is necessary to work with PV glazing. Dandelion Renewables is proud to be able to offer this to Edmonton, Alberta and Western Canada community.

Solar glass is usually in one of two forms: amorphous silicon or crystalline. Both can range in transparency but, naturally, the more light that is let through and the less efficient the electrical generation becomes. The amorphous silicon (a-Si) looks like tinted glass and can range in transparency up to 30%. The crystalline glazing looks more like a traditional photovoltaic panel except that the material holding the PV cells in place is glass. The most efficient amorphous units reach an output of 58W/m2, equivalent to 5.6% efficiency, while the crystalline glazing can reach efficiencies of 165W/m2, equivalent to 16%. Economics for these units are highly dependent on site specifics such as solar access, required transparency and, most importantly, what the alternative is.

Solar windows come in any form that regular windows do such as single, double or triple pane and their efficiency only increase as temperature decreases.

If you have a new build or retrofit and would like to know more about solar glazing, including skylights and windows we would be happy to help you!

More Government and Energy Efficiency Alberta Solar Funding Available

Great news in the land of sunny Alberta! Energy Efficiency of Alberta has updated their funding rates for its Residential and Commercial Solar Program (RCSP) as of Nov 2018. All new applications submitted right now will qualify for these new rates. Even better news for our Edmontonian neighbors, the City of Edmonton Residential solar grant is still available for additional funding. Here is a breakdown of the rates for funding:

Rates based on installed solar DC capacity in Watts:

Customers City of Edmonton Rest of Alberta
Residential

Lesser of:

$0.90/Watt or 35% of total project cost ( maximum grant value of $10,000)

+$0.15/Watt

Lesser of:

$0.90/Watt or 35% of the total project cost

(maximum grant value of $10,000)

Commercial

Lesser of:

$0.75/Watt or 35% of the total project cost

(maximum grant value of $1,000,000)

Non-Profit Organizations

Lesser of:

$1.00/Watt or 35% of the total project cost

(maximum grant value of $1,000,000)

The increase in the funding rates is meant to generate further interest in the program. In 2019, the Government of Alberta would like to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our province by about half a million tons (the equivalent of 70,000 passenger vehicles off the road) through the implementation of this program.

To learn more about the program and it’s details, feel free to visit the Energy Efficiency Alberta website at, https://www.efficiencyalberta.ca/solar/ Thank you to all of our existing customers who have installed a system with Dandelion Renewables and have benefited greatly through this program. To our prospective customers, we welcome you to contact us to see how you can benefit from a grid-tied solar PV system and from the new Government funding rates. We will be happy to assist you with sizing a PV system size to meet your needs and calculate the funds that you will be eligible for. We look forward to hearing from you!

FIRST NATIONS SOLAR PROJECT | TRIBAL CHIEFS VENTURES | EDMONTON, ALBERTA

Owners: Tribal Chiefs Ventures

Owner Comments

Dandelion Renewables just recently completed installing our commercial solar project. The team was very professional, proficient at keeping company downtime to a minimum during the transition and did an excellent job of keeping us informed. They obtained all the necessary permits and followed up regarding the required inspections. To assist with complying with the Government of Alberta reporting requirements for the Indigenous Solar Program, Dandelion Renewables provided a comprehensive commissioning report. We would recommend working with Dandelion Renewables for any solar project. Read more about the advantages of grid-tied solar systems.

Project Details

  • Operating Since: 04/06/2018
  • Solar Panels: 276 x LG, 395W
  • Racking: Schletter WindSafe
  • DC Power Rating: 109.02kW
  • Inverter: 3 x SMA, 30kW
  • Solar Production Data: sunnyportal.com
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Daysland, Alberta Iron Creek

Owners: Iron Creek Truck and Trailer Ltd

Owner Comments

Solar power generation is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of your home or business. We chose Dandelion Renewables for our commercial solar project, and couldn’t have been happier with the results. Mikhail (the owner) was very knowledgeable, his installation team was quick and efficient, and they did a great job on the installation. To top it off, the project bid from Dandelion was the best by a significant margin. Additionally, they did essentially everything that was required to secure the 25% government grant (commercial) which was refunded in a very timely manner. It is my opinion that the collection and use of solar energy is the future for the worlds energy needs, and it is very gratifying to see our system recovering all this energy and pushing it into the grid. In summation, I highly recommend using Dandelion Renewables for your solar power generation project.

single-portfolio

Project Details

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Camrose County, Alberta Herbert family farm

Owners: Murray and Carolyn

Owner Comments

Thanks so much for your good work on our behalf this year. It has been a pleasure to get acquainted with you my Russian friend! I greatly appreciate your attention to detail, and to being sure the project was done right. I have not hesitated to recommend you to several neighbours and other visitors to the farm that have asked about the system. We also feel sure we would not have been awarded the Growing Forward grant without your assistance. Thanks for your diligence in that as well.

single-portfolio

Project Details

  • Operating Since: 2012-10-17
  • Solar Power 9.8KW Grid-tied System
  • 40 x 245W Bosch Mono-crystalline Modules
  • 2 x Power One pvI-5000 String Inverters
  • 1 x eGauge Energy Monitor

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Strathcona County, Alberta Good Note farm

Owners: Maryann and Kevin

Owner Comments

This is something we have wanted to do for quite some time and thanks to Mikhail’s diligence and understanding we discovered the financial incentives available through an Alberta Government grant program and after approval, the installation was on our part effortless! Mikhail and his team of hard-working, energetic builders came here to our farm and installed this wonderful system. They thoroughly followed through and tended to every possible technicality. The system runs smoothly and every sunny day we find joy in watching our graph and the energy we are contributing to the grid. Incidentally, we also can notice and change our habits when our consumption seems high. The instant feedback, so we act accordingly. Dandelion Renewables has made it easy to “be the change” we want to see in this world.

To read more about advantages ground-mounted solar systems.

single-portfolio

Project Details

  • Operating Since: 2012-08-22
  • Solar Power 6.24KW Grid-tie System
  • 26 x 240W Bosch Mono-crystalline Modules
  • 1 x Power One PVI-6000 String Inverter
  • 1 x eGauge Energy Monitor
  • Solar supplies a straw-bale house and a farm

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Brazeau County, Alberta Modeste Creek Honey

Owners: Kari and Peter

Owner Comments

Rack-mounted on top of the shop.  Front 7 panels on one string (circuit) and the other 14 on another string. The estimated yearly production is 6 400 KWh.  I would like to have more but limited by an old 5kVA transformer.

Dandelion resources did a fantastic, cost-effective, conscientious job installing the system and I have had no reservations enthusiastically recommending them to anyone who asks about my system. Mikhail set my mind to rest on any issue I may have brought up before, during and after the install.

Read more about the advantages of grid-tied solar systems.

single-portfolio

Project Details

  • Operating Since: 2012-06-12
  • PV Cells: 21 Bosch c-Si M 60 240W Cells
  • DC Power Rating: 5 040W Grid Tied System (Fortis)
  • Inverter: Power One PVI-5000r
  • Power Monitor: eGuage
  • Solar supplies a newly built straw-bale house and a honey business operation

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