Just two weeks after a campaign was launched aimed at supporting the solar energy sector in B.C., the B.C. government announced 36 municipal governments are adopting policies that require new single-family home construction be built solar-ready.
The new requirements will require all new homes in the 36 communities that adopt the regulations to be built so that solar thermal for heating water can be installed at some point. Several Lower Mainland municipalities are adopting the new regulations, including Richmond, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Langley and Port Coquitlam.
The announcement came just two weeks after the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) launched its Stand Up for Solar campaign during the Solar West 2011 conference held in Vancouver May 31. (See “New sunrise for sustainable energy in B.C. as pro-solar campaugn launched” – issue 1129; June 14-20.)
One of the conference’s keynote speakers, Mark Jaccard, professor of sustainable energy at Simon Fraser University, told Business in Vancouver he didn’t support the idea of direct subsidies to the solar-energy sector but did support policies like the one that is now being adopted.
“This policy sends a positive message – the solar thermal industry is the place to invest in B.C. and will contribute to the creation of new jobs,” said CanSIA president Elizabeth McDonald.
“In addition to the growth of solar thermal, the solar industry, with the public, is exploring opportunities for expanded solar as a source for electricity in British Columbia as a means to manage load growth during peak periods,” said David Egles, CanSIA director for B.C.
Nelson Bennett
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