RESCo Energy Inc.

I am going to mini-series this for a few blogs as it is a critical part of the fledgling market that is Ontario. As a market we have been serviced by very few companies that have the ability to complete commercial-grade installations. This requires professionalism, experience and knowledge. RESCo recently completed an interesting exercise for a 150kW project. The idea was to help build the industry by tendering a portion of the work and allowing multiple installation companies to win parts of the work. This ensured that no one company was over taxed, and that multiple companies could lay claim to their involvment in the largest rooftop solar project in Canada.

We carved out the panel and racking portion only. All the structural and electrical was tendered to established trades in those fields. We asked firms to prequalify with us, and to our surprise we found very few that were capable of working on commerical buildings with the appropriate insurance, WSIB, and experience to ensure a quality installation. Over 15 firms were not qualified, and only 4 made the cut. A few declined politely based on existing workload.

As a labour force this sector has been underserviced. It is important that all groups work together to ensure that this part of the capacity building accelerates and that sufficient margins are allowed to ensure they can grow.

In the last two months since this exercise, we have seen the development of labour conglomerates and cross training that has given us access to many more installation-ready labour forces. RESCo is also actively engaged with training organizations to create hands-on experience for their graduates. Together with our installation partners and these new labour pools we are now confident that we can support the 10+ fold growth anticipated in 2010.

It is not everyday that we find companies linking organics and green energy on the industrial scale. RESCo provided a design/build photovoltaic system to Campell’s Company of Canada to provide green energy directly into the plant as part of an effort to make their organic soups with green power. With this starter system in place, Campbell’s is evaluating future expansion options and furthering their conservation programs in an effort to reduce energy use and supplement their requirements with on-site green energy where possible. Congratulations to Campbell’s!

The December 8th, 2008 issue of MacLean’s magazine profiles the roles of retailers like Mountain Equipment Co-op and Wal-Mart as leaders in environmental initiatives. They took a beautiful photo of the combined solar thermal and photovoltaic concentrator system that RESCo provided as part of turnkey for this LEED Gold store.

The store opened in November and, as is characteristic of MEC, showcased innovative green building designs such as this Power-Spar system. Congratulations MEC!

To view the article click here

Permitting solar projects has been a key barrier to the development of the renewables market. Permitting is a programming function and takes longer to align with policy statements than many wish to admit. This barrier is coming down. Permitting requires city employees to sign off on engineering drawings and this can’t be rushed. They are professionals and are signing their name to long term projects with potential liabilities.

Projects that were taking over a year to permit are now down to a week. This is a function of all parties better understanding requirements, risks, and roles. Political pressure had something to do with this, but only that it kept the focus on the process. More importantly is that the examiners and developers have worked through projects together and this has resulted in both groups being better at their jobs and comfortable with the needs of the other.

This is a major step forward for the renewable industry.

The not-for-profit sector is proving its commitment to renewables. Leaders such as Mountain Equipment Cooperative, Artscape Toronto Inc., and Windward Cooperative are developing on-site renewable energy systems. Along with established renewable energy groups such as the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-op, these non-profits are showing that renewables are good business and are a natural match to their mandates to build community capacity, minimize environmental impact, and showcase their leadership in sustainability.

MEC is putting solar thermal and photovoltaic concentrators on two of its Ontario properties, Artscape is commissioning a $1.7M ground source heat pump, Windward is completing a feasibility study for the development of solar thermal generating system, and TREC continues to lead through the development of urban turbines, and supporting solar communities.

The key considerations for many of these groups is how to finance these projects, which is leading more and more groups to seek out the financing of RESCoLease or the own/operate model of RESCo Energy.

RESCoLease Corp. was selected by Artscape to source $3.5M of operating capital to close the funding gap on the Wychwood Barns conversion known as the Green Arts Barns Project. RESCoLease placed the operating line with Manulife Financial.

RESCo Technical Services Ltd. has been added to the design team of a new LEED Gold/Platinum store to be built in Burlington, Ontario. The team is being lead by Corin Flood, an ex-MEC employee that started them on the path to green buildings. Also included are Enermodal as the mechanical and electrical engineers, Stone Vogt McGuire as the architects, and Equilibrium as the structural engineers.

MEC has a commitment to design each new facility to be more environmentally friendly than all others in their portfolio. They are now designing their buildings to be completely disassembled and reused and recycled at the end of its life.

RESCo Technical Services Ltd. was first commissioned to look at the feasibility of solar thermal air conditioning for the new store. Subsequently, RTS was brought on to design the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic system for the store and integrate it seamlessly with the design.

Though all the rage, why are we are not seeing a lot of installed renewable energy systems.

There are a number of reasons for this. Financing and access to technology are often cited. However, the bigger issue is in the details; zoning, permitting, public consultation, and the fact they have never been done here before at this scale.

Working with city officials to align building codes, zoning requirements and permitting is one part of this equation. Finding areas that are amenable to renewables is another. Having the patience and budgets to work through the unknowns is critical.

For those who are waiting…expect delays. The science is in, the art is still at work. Then as the first projects help clear these issues, expect what you see to start matching what you hear.

For building owners who are looking to reduce their environmental impact, energy use is a major consideration. Some owners are setting themselves a target of producing as much energy as their building’s use in a year. These are net-zero energy buildings.

They are not “off-the-grid”. Rather they use the grid as a ‘battery’. They produce energy when the sun is shining, the wind is blowing or their back-up generator is operating. This power is used to operate the building with excess power being sold to the grid. Conversely, when they are not producing enough they purchase power from the grid.

Net-Zero Energy is an important concept because it accepts a responsibility for reducing your energy use, generating the rest, and minimizing your need on centralized power and transmission systems. It also gives the owner control over energy costs, which are otherwise volatile and escalating. The concept is now often discussed at the design phase, and we will soon be seeing many more in construction and operation.

Exhibition Place is planning on being energy self sufficient by 2010
BedZED is the UK’s largest carbon neutral development
Habitat for Humanity looked at the social benefit and built a net-zero home

Mountain Equipment Co-op in Toronto has invited those who played a role in the design, construction, and management of their green features to be on-site during Doors Open. MEC both leads and educates when it comes to helping the environment, and this is another example of MEC helping others better understand how they, too, can make a difference in their buildings. RESCo Energy and Menova Energy will be on-site to profile MEC’s 2007 project – the installation of the first solar photovoltaic and thermal generating system in Toronto.  MEC will be providing tours of their green roof as well. MEC expects approximately 4,000 people to visit the store that weekend, of which 700 will get a chance to see the green roof. For more information go here.