Quebec must unearth more electricity. However, for owners of commercial buildings equipped with solar panels, it is often impossible to sell surplus energy on the Hydro-Québec network. No offense to fans of photovoltaics, the state corporation thinks that this source of energy sticks badly to the needs of the province.
Last year, the architecture firm Rayside Labossière completed the expansion of its offices in the Centre-Sud district of Montreal. Wanting to enhance its “green ambitions” and comply with environmental certifications, it had decided to install solar panels on the roof of the building which, in addition to its offices on the ground floor, also has eight apartments on the upper floors.
Bad surprise: the project did not qualify for Hydro-Quebec’s “net metering” program, which allows self-producers of solar energy to inject their surpluses into the grid in exchange for credits. For administrative reasons, only small power business customers, who never need more than 50 kilowatts (kW), are eligible. “You go over that limit fairly quickly,” explains Antonin Labossière, a partner in the firm.
Suddenly, the project became less profitable. On average, the solar panels on the roof of the expansion meet one-third of the office’s needs. However, when the sun is shining and the computers are turned off, it can happen that the energy production exceeds the consumption. Without the net metering option, these surpluses are injected without compensation into the Hydro-Québec network.
Initially annoyed, the firm and its partners then found a solution to circumvent the problem that was upsetting their budget: they split the building’s electrical entrance in two. The ground floor thus qualified for the program, and surplus solar energy could be recovered. However, not all promoters can perform such a maneuver to adhere to net metering.
“When you tell a customer [souhaitant installer des panneaux solaires] that, currently, he would have to donate part of the electricity he produces, that compromises the discussion,” laments Hugo Lafrance, a partner responsible for sustainable strategies at Lemay, one of the largest architectural firms. in Quebec.
Lemay’s offices, located in the Saint-Henri district of Montreal, are topped with 379 photovoltaic panels. However, since the building requires too much current to be considered a low-power customer, it did not qualify for the program. “Our systems are calibrated to limit these losses, but there are still times in the year when Lemay provides electricity to Quebecers,” said Mr. Lafrance.
According to this architect, who is also a member of the LEED Canada steering committee, Hydro-Québec and the Régie de l’énergie should relax the eligibility criteria for the net metering program. “It’s essential if we want the commercial, institutional and industrial building industry to embark on solar energy — and it’s this industry that has large roofs” suitable for panels, he says.
On the residential side, most owners who dive into solar energy can easily join the net metering program, says Maxime Morency, vice-president of Québec Solar, a company that supports building owners wishing to install photovoltaic panels. However, few commercial buildings qualify, he confirms.
Typically, Morency says, commercial homeowners who have enough space on their roof to install solar panels consume too much energy to be considered low-power customers. Fortunately, many of them manage to use all of their solar energy production during the year: they therefore do not need to sell their surpluses.
However, the problems are likely to multiply, as more and more owners of commercial buildings are tempted by the solar adventure, observes the specialized contractor. “Given that the price of photovoltaics has dropped dramatically in recent years, it becomes a viable option” for developers who want to obtain environmental certification for their building, explains Mr. Morency.
Knowing that Hydro-Québec’s electricity is renewable and affordable, why would a promoter want to engage in the self-production of solar energy? Antonin Labossière and Hugo Lafrance discuss the issue of resilience in the event of a network failure. Furthermore, they point out that decentralized energy production reduces the load on the distribution network, which represents a benefit for the community.
Updated net metering
Hydro-Québec, for its part, says it welcomes with “openness” the interest of its customers for the self-production of solar energy. Spokesperson Maxence Huard-Lefebvre recalls, however, that “the production profile of solar energy is not in line with the curve of Quebecers’ needs”. On a cold day in January, at 6 p.m., the sun has already set, so the solar panels are not producing.
The public company is also tempering its enthusiasm for the self-production of solar energy, because, according to its studies, the carbon footprint over the entire life cycle of photovoltaic panels is higher than that of wind turbines. This difference would however be doomed to vanish with the optimization of the manufacture of photovoltaic cells.
The state-owned company therefore does not prioritize the development of solar self-production. In response to questions from Duty, it nevertheless indicates that it is working on updating its net metering option, which will then have to be approved by the Régie de l’énergie. A revision of the eligibility limit set at 50 kW “is one of the elements analyzed”.
According to Hydro-Québec’s latest supply plan, decentralized solar production will provide 0.7 terawatt hours of additional energy per year in 2032, compared to 2022. It estimates that 60% of this energy will come from the residential sector, and 40% of the commercial sector. This corresponds to one tenth of the new energy that will be required to electrify transport.