Barrhead & District Senior Citizens Society, Alberta
Customer representative comments:
Trent [Project manager, Dandelion Renewables – Ed.], your personable manner was appreciated. As the PV-system work proceeded, you kept us informed about the progress of the installation and helped with paperwork from the MCCAC and our wired service provider. You responded to my emails in a prompt and informative manner. In addition, you always kept yourself available by cell phone for any questions I may have had.
Your crew were friendly and courteous when on the job at our Drop-In. The installation by your crew of the hardware—the switches, the inverter, the PV panels—was neat and tidy. The use of conduit for bundles of wiring contributed to the orderly appearance of the installation.
The end result of your leadership was a fully functioning PV system that was installed in a timely manner. Thank you! It was a pleasure working with you.
Eldon K., President
Barrhead & District Senior Citizens Society
In the month of July 2018, Dandelion Renewables installed community solar systems near Nelson, British Columbia.
We built three solar PV systems on community buildings in Balfour, BC, near Nelson, with a combined solar capacity of 67KW DC. These three projects complement Nelson Hydro’s own 60KW DC community solar garden project that was built to showcase the potential for solar virtual net-metering in 2017.
Three community-owned buildings include Balfour Community Hall, Balfour Senior’s Center, and Balfour Golf Club. To contain the power costs, the three buildings have undergone detailed energy assessments and retrofits beginning in 2014. Today in all three buildings the temperature is maintained by efficient air-source heat pumps.
Solar panels on the Balfour Golf Course.
The ultimate goal of solar is to cover the power consumption of the building. For example, the power that is used on a hot summer day when air-source pumps are cooling down the buildings. The summer operation of the golf course and the building electric loads fits well with solar production. As solar power generation is an intermittent resource and does not exactly follow the load profile, the excess solar energy will be exported to the Nelson Hydro grid for a credit.
By generating their own electricity and selling the excess solar energy back to the Nelson Hydro grid, the community buildings will offset their power bill costs and in the long run, will reduce their operating costs. Current electricity rates and pricing structure in the area around Nelson create a compelling solar business case for the distributed solar generation.
Another benefit of residential and commercial-scale solar systems is that they are installed close to where the energy is consumed, thus they rely less on the distribution system.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay successfully managed to secure funding from the Columbia Trust Basin and the Federal Tax Community Works Fund, which made these three community solar systems near Nelson possible.
During the hot 3 weeks of solar installation on the roof, our team truly appreciated and enjoyed the pristine, beautiful, and crystal clear Kootenay Lake. We all hope to continue working in the area to educate our customers about energy generation and energy conservation options. As Dan Geissler Operations Manager at Nelson Hydro said: “Dandelion Renewables has put its stamp in our region with these recent solar projects for sure.”
Links to Balfour Community Solar project generation data:
We are so happy with the job Dandelion Renewables have done with our Photovoltaic system. Beginning with our initial meeting, the site evaluation, planning, installation, and post evaluation; Dandelion Renewables have been a pleasure to work with. Everything that they said would be done was done on time and on budget. Any problems that occurred were handled smoothly and without any delay. Mikhail had been remarkably accessible for any questions and has been a real advocate for our system, which is the first of its kind in our county.
Project Details
Operating Since: 2014-05-01
PV Cells: 28 SunEdison F305ByC 305W Modules
DC Power Rating: 8500W Grid Tied System
Inverter: Power One PVI-3.8-OUTD-S-US
Solar supplies a newly built straw-bale house and a farm
Our 5.1 kW system produces almost 50% of our electricity needs. It is great in the summer when we want to run the air conditioning! The egauge system is great for double checking your electricity bills.
Project Details
Operating Since: 2013-05-30
20 Bosch 255W PV Modules, Power One PVI-5000 inverter, sloped roof, DC capacity 5,100 kW
We are very satisfied with our home solar panels and the work done by Dandelion Renewables. It’s exciting to watch the change of seasons as reflected by our energy production. We feel good about creating a significant portion of our electricity and reducing our carbon footprint. Even though it’s not possible for us to generate all of our own electricity, the solar panels have helped us be more aware of our usage and provide additional motivation to use less.
To read more about advantages of roof-top solar systems.
Project Details
Operating Since: 2012-11-21
9 panels, 2kW capacity, south facing, sloped roof with partial shade.
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.
