Ontario farmers buying certain types of high-efficiency water pumping systems for irrigation, horticulture or stock watering could now be up for rebates. Hydro One and Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) on Friday announced the AgriPump rebate program, which the two electricity utilities described as the first plan of its kind in the province. For farmer customers […] Read more
Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate
Greenhouse advances saving operators big dollars
New state-of-the-art designs are halving energy costs, but even ‘simple things’ make a difference
Reading Time: 2 minutes Improved construction materials and design are making greenhouses more efficient and cheaper to operate, says a provincial horticulture specialist. “Greenhouses have traditionally been energy-intensive operations, but with increasing scrutiny and slowly shrinking margins, producers need to find ways of trimming costs wherever possible,” said Dustin Morton. For example, research by Silke Hemming of Wageningen University […] Read more
Alberta producers asking big questions about solar power
There’s huge interest in this technology and issues such as payback, fixed costs, and government programs are top of mind
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s no doubt that the government of Alberta is betting big on renewable energy. The goal is to get 30 per cent of Alberta’s electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030, and it earmarked $5.5 million last year to help farms and municipalities develop solar power projects. With that kind of big money comes big […] Read more
Can producers make money as solar power providers?
The province is currently consulting stakeholders on a framework that could help farmers do this
Reading Time: 2 minutes In many places, farmers are allowed to turn a profit by tying their solar power systems into the electrical grid. Albertans can export solar electricity to the grid — but there are currently no programs allowing system sizes larger than those that meet on-site electrical requirements. “Alberta’s micro-generation law was crafted for homeowners, business owners, […] Read more
Ontario budget seeks tax flexibility for on-farm processing
The Ontario government has balanced its budget for the first time in since 2008 — but Thursday’s budget contained little news for agriculture and rural Ontario. Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget mostly highlighted agriculture programs that had already been announced, and maintains $100 million in funding for the provincial Risk Management Program, which helps offsets […] Read more
The solar power math is starting to add up
A steep drop in solar prices is giving a new meaning to ‘green’ power — and giving Alberta farmers a way to cut energy costs
Reading Time: 6 minutes Cory Nelson isn’t what you might call a ‘tree hugger.’ But the Grassy Lake-area farmer is a businessman, and to him, solar energy just makes good financial sense. “We view it as an investment,” said Nelson, who grows a variety of crops under irrigation on his southern Alberta farm. “Our best math said it was […] Read more
Ontario greenhouse growers get competitiveness fund
The Ontario government is putting $19 million into a new initiative to support the competitiveness of the greenhouse sector in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal announced the funding on Thursday at Link Greenhouse near Bowmanville, just east of Oshawa. The Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative aims to provide funding for the creation of […] Read more
Funding sparks boom in small-scale solar projects
Attractive lease rates for ‘micro-gen’ projects have many farmers thinking of doing their own
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although smaller-scale community-organized solar farms have, so far, been left in the lurch, there’s good news for farmers and other rural landowners interested in solar. Growing Forward 2 offers grants of up to $50,000 for ‘micro-gen’ solar projects where the power is used in the production of a primary commodity. That kind of government support […] Read more
Community-based project lost in the shuffle over solar power
Government inaction jeopardizes proposed community solar farm that backers hoped would be a model for rural Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes It only takes a cursory glance at the headlines to recognize that a solar energy boom is coming to Alberta. Last year, the province set a target of having 30 per cent renewable energy by 2030 — but it remains to be seen whether farmers and rural communities will be able to ride this coming […] Read more
Starland County wants to spark solar revolution
The county established a co-op that is planning a solar farm that it hopes will be a model for Alberta communities
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new co-op plans to develop the first community-owned solar farm on the Prairies — a 12-acre block of solar panels to be located in Starland County. But the ultimate goal is much larger — to create a model that can be replicated across the province. “We’re excited that we can be a good host […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
