Sunny outlook on solar power Read MoreWednesday, Sept. 17: In Dunrobin, a proposed solar-panel farm could even be paired with farming crops or livestock, a reader suggests. You can write to us too, at letters@ottawacitizen.com
Wednesday, Sept. 17: In Dunrobin, a proposed solar-panel farm could even be paired with farming crops or livestock, a reader suggests. You can write to us too, at letters@ottawacitizen.com
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Sunny outlook on solar power
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Count me among the strong supporters of this project. I don’t need any additional benefits beyond knowing that our community is doing its bit to save our beautiful, fragile planet.
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It makes great economic sense as well. According to Market Research Future, a trusted international market research group, while fossil fuels still dominate world energy supply at 61 per cent, this percentage is declining fast. Solar power alone grew by 140 per cent between 2015 and 2024 and, together with wind energy, captures 30 per cent of the world’s energy output, surpassing natural gas and coal by a wide margin. Global investment in solar power alone this year is projected to reach $450 billion U.S., the single largest component of energy investment.
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Renewable energy production has leapt forward in part because of the rapidly reducing cost of production and breakthroughs in battery storage technology, the latter laying waste to the old saw “the sun doesn’t shine at night, so solar energy isn’t practical.” Far-fetched as it might sound, the Chinese are now developing the capacity for solar panels to generate electricity at night.
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They have also made major strides in combining solar power generation with agriculture. Lessons learned here might be instructive in Dunrobin and eliminate some opposition to the proposed project.
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They have found solar panels can reduce wind speed across open land by up to 50 per cent and reduce soil evaporation by 30 per cent, transforming relatively barren land, even desert, into fairly decent agricultural land. By raising solar panels high and far enough apart, they can grow and harvest a wide variety of crops on this newly fertile land.
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They have also found that there can be a genuine symbiotic relationship between raising livestock, especially sheep and goats, and solar power generation. Again, keeping panels high enough off the ground to allow the animals to graze beneath them, keeps large herds well-fed. The animals, in turn, provide natural fertilizer and keep weeds and grass at bay, helping to preserve the life and efficiency of photovoltaic panels.
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Canada is just beginning to appreciate the full value of renewable solar and wind energy. Not only for the environment, but for great cost savings and stability of energy supply, even in northern climes.
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Earl Turcotte, Dunrobin
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Expected deficit is an outrage
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I am speechless. Did I read correctly that Canada will probably have a deficit of $90 billion this year?
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This is a record deficit. Each and every Canadian now owes thousands of dollars in accumulated government debt.
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Again, the Liberals have clearly demonstrated they do not know how to administer a country. If they were in charge of a private company, it would have gone bankrupt 10 years ago.
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Canada Post is approximately $1.2 billion of that $90 billion. It is high time to deal appropriately with this dying dinosaur. Either completely transform it or shut it down.
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Good job, Liberals. Why did people vote for you again?
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Daniel G. Lévesque, Ottawa
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