Current size of Solar industry in Alberta - Number of workers

[ExtraSlow]

Have noticed lots of solar installer vehicles recently, and while that's probably a fluke, it did get me thinking. How big is the solar industry currently in Alberta? Who are the largest companies, and does anyone have an estimate of the total number of people employed in this sub-sector?

[Darell_n]

Skyfire is starting up in a few days on the project I’m working on. Something around 1800 panels at 348w each. I don’t think the installers are tradesmen at all, just labourers according to the J-man Electrician on my crew, so I don’t think specific industry numbers will be easy to find. He also recognized the company name as one of the largest around here.

[lamp_shade_2000]

There's been sales people at Lowe's all summer long pitching solar panels for homes through Solar Brokers. I've seen a few sprout up over the summer on houses in my community. Not sure if that spiked the number of installers here.

[The Cosworth]

I see a bit of a different side to it but some larger installations have made their way into the system. The issue is that the regulatory environment and technology (not panel technology) still isn't totally there. I truly believe that if it was pushed hard enough and the NDP are re-elected it might totally change the electrical landscape. Right now, there are just too many barriers and hidden costs to make it worth-while sometimes.

[craigcd]

There should be stats on the CanSia website- if I have a chance I will grab them later.

https://www.cansia.ca/

[HiTempguy1]

i truly believe that if we allowed the ndp to completely fuck up the electrical grid and put prices through the roof,it might totally change the electrical landscape. Right now, there are just too many solid economic reasons that this doesn't happen and i wish the government would just steamroll over with tax dollars

ftfy

[tirebob]

Royal Oak Audi needed to install hail shelters to protect their cars because of so many claims the insurance company was pretty much demanding it, so they have converted the entire dealership to run off solar as all those shelters gave all the extra space they needed for panels. Apparently they consistently use less than it produces so power is going back into the grid.

Now that said, I am sure it was hellishly expensive to install, but when you have a business like that your power bills have to be at least 10k to 20k per months, so even if it was over a million bucks to install, that would get recovered in a relatively reasonable amount of time, and even over and above that, the cars are sheltered. Seems like a win to me but I can't say I know enough about the ins and outs to say it makes sense for the mainstream businesses.

[The Cosworth]

ftfy

LOL. Totally far from the truth. The issue is not pricing being the limit as the projects that are coming on are economically viable within 8-10 years even with current pool prices. It is the regulations on both the wires owners and the connection side that haven't kept up.