Environmental Benefits

Environmental benefits are another important factor when choosing to install solar. A solar installation for a home, business or cottage will help reduce demand from existing electric power plants and offset their carbon emissions. Your solar PV installation will help ease the strain on Ontario’s electricity system, reduce air pollution, promote sustainability, protect the environment and create new, high-skilled jobs. The average solar PV residential system (based on 5kW), would save nearly 175 tons of carbon dioxide over its 30 year lifespan - equivalent to removing 32 cars from the road. It takes approximately 4,487 new trees to absorb that much co2 produced by fossil fuels.

 

Reduction of Waste: Nearly every type of energy production from non-renewable sources produce waste which have a negative impact on the environment. Even nuclear energy, while burning relatively clean, presents serious problems with the safe storage of radioactive waste and the possibility of widespread nuclear fallout from a reactor meltdown.

 

Reduction of Pollutant - There are major environmental impacts attributed to electricity generation from non-renewable fuels. Emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere (particulates, Sulphur Dioxide (SOx), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and others) all have a grave impact on public health, water and crops. These negative externalities also impact many delicate ecosystems such as forests and fisheries.

 

Conservation of Fossil Fuels - With Individuals, corporations, and government using alternative energies such as solar, we conserve fossil fuels and other natural resources that are quickly depleting. With a rapidly expanding world economy, and the strong growth in highly populated countries - the demand for energy is increasing at an alarming rate. This makes conserving our resources more important than ever. In addition to the deterioration of land, air and water - the rapid depletion of natural resources “further compromises the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

 

Economic Benefits

Job Creation - By investing in solar you are helping to generate and stimulate job creation. As demand rises for technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and biomass, more Ontarians will be needed to design, build, install, operate and maintain these technologies.

 

Sustainability - The birth of "Renewable Energy" technology especially in Solar PV can be compared to the computer or the internet technology of the 90s which gave rise to such a mammoth economy ensuring job sustainability for future generations.

 

Ontario Content - Ontario’s Micro-Fit projects will require a percentage of the Alternative Energy project to have Provincially made components or content.