Solar power in Canada

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Canada, despite being a northern nation, has many options for solar energy. It can use both active solar and passive solar technologies, including photovoltaic cells, solar thermal energy, and radiant mass solar.

Many remote radio and navigation sites are presently powered by solar panels. One small half metre square panel is enough to keep batteries charged. With panels on roofs and warehouses, composite panels within the glass curtains of business blocks, panels that dually generate power and act as a partial sun shade to reduce cooling needs, the generating capacity is large.

Alberta and the prairie provinces, parts of BC, the Arctic and Central Canada all have solar potential. While the number of hours of sunlight varies per province, modern panels are adept enough to work in partial light.

One problem is that solar panels cost about $1,000 a square meter, and each panel generates about one kilowatt. To make solar cost efficient the price of power would need to be around 20 cents per kilowatt.