The Expanding Local Market For Solar Power

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A Cortes Island based solar company has been installing more systems that tie into the grid.

There is a lot of potential for solar energy production in British Columbia. It has been largely untouched because of the province’s reliance on hydro-power and natural gas. As of October 2023, BC Hydro had 8,500 net metering customers with a combined solar capacity of 71 MW. This was only a fraction of the 4,609.5 MW of solar capacity tied to Canada’s grid that year. 


These statistics do not include off-grid installations.  


“The majority of my customers are off-grid. Anytime you're using fuel, switching to solar is a 'no brainer.' The payback is extremely quick. You don't have the noise of the generator and it generator is not very efficient either,” explained Ian King of Cortes Island based King Solar Contracting.


He cited a recent $60,000 installation on Twin Islands. Prior to this, his customer had been burning through $40,000 worth of diesel every year. The system should pay for itself, through reduced energy costs, in a year and a half. 


King: “The bulk of my customers are on Hernando Island. I've put in about 95 of the systems out there. There's quite a few installers on Savary Island, but I've done a few out that way. I had quite a few up in Granite Bay before BC Hydro reached the north end of Quadra. Refuge is another little cove of no power. There's the two fingers around the Gorge, and that's generally where there's no hydro.” 


He proceeded to list some small islands around Cortes: Channel Rock. Whale Rock, Heather Islet and Coulter Island.


King has put in more than 200 systems during the past 20 years. While the majority appear to be in our vicinity, he has worked on some of the remote islands around Port McNeill, and as far south as Mill Bay, or across the waters to the Lund - Powell River area.

Cortes Currents was especially interested in some of the grid tied systems King Solar recently installed on Cortes Island. The ‘pay back’ is slower, often about 20 years, but this really depends on the complexity of the system required.


Sadhu Johnston and Manda Aufochs Gillespie had two solar systems installed on their property a couple of years ago. They have a complex system with battery storage for their house, and a more simple system for their shop and a rental unit on their property.


Johnston: “Our system up the hill doesn't have the separate inverter and battery system, so that system was a lot less expensive to install. We don't get the benefit of power during an outage and whatnot, but we still get the benefit of reducing our consumption because we're generating power and putting it into the grid. So that system up the hill will have a much faster payback - because it's really just the solar panels.” 


King: “I like to sit down with each individual customer and keep an eye on their bills, to better educate myself on exactly what the real time numbers areper each system.” 


Johnston: “It's really great to have somebody in our community that knows my panel system and can come and give me technical advice and help me out versus hiring someone from afar that comes in and does your installation, disappears and it's really hard to reach them.”


“I call him once every few months with a question. Wondering what this light means, or can you come over and look at something or there's a noise or whatever. It makes a really big difference to be able to know that  if I need him within an hour, he's over taking a look at something and he's not sending me a bill every time. He's a neighbour and he feels pride in his work. He wants to make sure that I understand things and can maintain it properly ourselves.”


King: “It's a big selling feature for me, even on Hernando per se, that I am local. Word of mouth is an enormous part of how my business expands and I get new jobs.”