A company’s bid to place a solar array on the roof of an Elmira-area business got the endorsement of Woolwich council this week.
Solar Power Network will submit an application for the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, with plans for a rooftop array at Tube-line Manufacturing at 6455 Reid Woods Dr., Elmira. In order to have a chance of standing out among the thousands of applications expected during the current intake, the backing of the municipality is needed to boost the points system used by the province, said SPN representative Frances Lea.
The project would be the company’s third in Woolwich, joining solar installations on top of an industrial building on Sawmill Road in Bloomingdale and another on Oriole Parkway in Elmira, she said.
Unlike the other two, however, the Tube-line building is located outside of an industrial area, in this case on land zoned for agricultural use, falling outside of the township’s policy for such projects.
For director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley, however, the building’s industrial means it qualifies for the township’s blessing.
“It would meet the intents of council’s policy,” he said of the Tube-line location.
Under the province’s Green Energy Act, municipalities have been removed from the approval process for renewable energy projects, but the points system used to judge applications does restore some power to local hands, said Kennaley.
While supportive of the bid, Coun. Mark Bauman expressed some concerns about the potential threat the technology poses to firefighters. Woolwich has already adopted a policy for identifying buildings with solar arrays to help ensure the electrical system is no longer live should firefighters have to deal with a blaze from above.
In response, Lea noted safety features are part of the technology used by her company, with shutoff switches for the panels.
Township fire chief Rick Pedersen said his department would be reviewing the installation and the technology in use.
