The Real Engineering Report on the Economics of Solar in BC
This article is not about solar but more about professional ethics, dishonesty, public deception and accountability........there is NONE> I complained to the Professional engineers Society of BC, mayor council and many others. So far, any eco website or green related media block, deny, and disallow my comments and information, they have an agenda, its not about public money and economics.
As long as this continues our public pockets will continue to be picked for this waste of public dollars.
Update 9/2020 The Nelson hydro manager, engineer who brought a phony engineering report
to city council showing them the Community Solar Garden had a business case has left, unaccountable for his dishonesty and disrespect to his professonal ethics, his mayor and council, the city taxpayers and Nelson hydro ratepayers. This leaves the CAO and others still accountable for all the dishonesty. I provided all the information to the previous mayor and council, met with the hydro engineer, consultant, provided decades of local solar data showing they exaggerated everything in order to come up with a business case. It meets the definition of a FRAUD.
Pay attention to the engineering, do you think the hydro manager retained this consultant to bring a report showing solar did not have a business case? I complained to the APEGBC they did nothing.
You may want to skip down to PHONY Engineering.
Some economics
Solar Garden cost $400,000 business case payments $24,000/yr for 25 years
Nelson hydro sells power to BC Hydro an entire year of solar garden power would earn $400
Nelson buys Fortis power a year of solar garden power is a credit of $2400
Nelson hydros own cost of generation for a year of solar garden power $530
The Nelson hydro manager found a consultant to provide a business case which
the manager presented to city council.
ALL PUBLIC MONEY IS A WASTE FOR SOLAR IN BC A WATER POWER PROVINCE
| Nelson Community Solar Garden a feelgood green washing political stunt IT WAS deceptive, dishonest, unethical and misrepresented as voluntary and fully funded by those opting in |
Alex Love, no longer employed with the city, who brought city council a phony engineering business case for solar. Other church group and co-op members who opted in for a 25 year contract for the power of a solar panel for their warm fuzzy feeling thinking this was going to help save the planet.
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| Nelson Community Solar Garden in Winter THE ONLY TIME SOLAR COULD BE OF VALUE AND IT DOESN'T WORK Below spring runoff begins, reservoirs fill, dams overflow, we can't even use all the water the solar has the same value as the water spilling $0. 
Above Nelson hydro dam overflowing like every lake and reservoir in BC beginning with spring runoff until fall, the same time almost all annual solar power is made, its worthless  Above Nelson hydro dam in winter when we could use the solar power it doesn't work 
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For six winter months when we could use the solar power it makes enough for little more than one house.
Solar garden cost $400,000, annual payments $22,000 for 25 years, it won't last that long. Solar panel life expectancy 25 years making less power every year with age, cradle to toxic grave dirty power compared to our clean green water power.
The city got an award for the Solar Garden, ex mayor Kozak holding it. Nelson hydro manager Alex Love on the left (no longer with the city)
The engineers drawings showed row spacing so this would not occur, someone signed off on the changes, I asked who, nobody would answer.
Highway sign Near Nelson showing local dams making enough power for
a million homes.
I notice they haven't put the solar garden on the sign yet? Power for one house?
Mist from the dam creates its own fog the solar garden is directly under the fog bank right.
I notice they haven't put the solar garden on the sign yet? Power for one house?
Mist from the dam creates its own fog the solar garden is directly under the fog bank right.
PHONY ENGINEERING, I complained to the society, they replied they saw no problems.
Unethical engineers? confusing their ethics with politics? Penticton studied solar and determined it would need to be subsidized 50%. Kelowna solar project was denied by the BCUC because it was no benefit to anyone. Nelson hydro's go to consultant brought a business case for solar, were they expecting him to bring a report showing solar wasn't worth it? The engineers already knew that.
Unethical engineers? confusing their ethics with politics? Penticton studied solar and determined it would need to be subsidized 50%. Kelowna solar project was denied by the BCUC because it was no benefit to anyone. Nelson hydro's go to consultant brought a business case for solar, were they expecting him to bring a report showing solar wasn't worth it? The engineers already knew that.
Rule number one for engineers, find someone else to provide the required report, thereby
excusing yourself from accountability.
The Nelson solar garden business case was done by the same engineer who did the Kimberley SunMine report using the same computer program, inputs were changed?
Below the financials for the Kimberley Sun Mine solar project.
A solar project is deemed to have a business case if it can payback in 25 years, the life expectancy of a solar panel.
So how did this engineer come up with a 25 year payback for Nelson? He changed and modified all the computer inputs so it worked out to show a 25 year payback, whose gonna know? This is what they wanted, he provided it, did you think he was retained to provide a report that showed solar would not work?????????
For the Nelson report he forgot? degredation. (solar panels age making less power every year)
Its assumption number 2 in the above Kimberley report.
So how did this engineer come up with a 25 year payback for Nelson? He changed and modified all the computer inputs so it worked out to show a 25 year payback, whose gonna know? This is what they wanted, he provided it, did you think he was retained to provide a report that showed solar would not work?????????
For the Nelson report he forgot? degredation. (solar panels age making less power every year)
Its assumption number 2 in the above Kimberley report.
Searching the Kimberley engineering report for the word degredation it appears 22 times. Doesn't appear at all in the Nelson report. I went on the forum for the computer program asking the question about degredation, there is an input, the info I received is one would have to make a concious effort to ignore it.
For Nelson no operating costs or administration costs are shown.
Inflation for Nelson is 3.5%, it works better than the 1.8% CPI used for the Kimberley report.
ExAgErRATE annual solar power earned by about 25% from years of local known publicly available solar data.
The original project was for 200 panels, they slipped in another 25%, it did make estimated annual power, how amazing.
Below the Nelson solar report financials, does this look anything like the Kimberley report above?
Same engineer, same computer program? Notice how it goes from red to black at year 25......
I complained to the APEGBC (assoc. of prof engineers), nothing happened. I appealed, still nothing.
Mayor Kozak did finally allow to me "well its there now". Accountability? NONE! Dishonest, unethical, 100%.
Could this have anything to do with the departure of the Nelson hydro manager? Sure took a long time
He disrespected his professional ethics, his city council, mayor, city residents/taxpayers/hydro customers all paying for this political stunt that was supposed to be FULLY funded by those opting in.
He would Never answer my questions, one being what was meant by fully funded, because every Nelson hydro customer is paying and still has the remainder of the 25 year contracts to pay off at full retail to those church groups, co-ops, individuals who all thought this was helping the planet.
Nelson hydro's bylaw says they won't buy any power unless it makes economic sense, so why are we all paying full retail for feel good solar power while losing the huge profits otherwise made by cleaner greener water now spilling down the river with the profits?
BCHydro and Fortis only pay their wholesale cost of power if any one has excess, but only allow one to install a system as large as to avoid their own consumption. They don't want to give you a credit for your extra summer solar power they don't need and then you cash it in during winter when they
really need the power and now you receive a benefit from something that worthless in the first place.
The hydro engineer in two consecutive submissions to the BCUC rate reviews said the solar garden was fully funded by those opting in, FALSE!!!!
I asked management, mayor and councils why they ignore their bylaw saying Nelson hydro won't buy any power unless it makes economic sense, nobody talks.
What I have discovered in this city, no transparency, dishonesty, deception, misinformation
and this is the tip of the iceberg.
Below a contour of the primary city 7 km primary water intake source Five Mile Creek.
The water line was installed in 1926 with water pipe from France. An engineering report a decade ago said it needed replacing, was undersized and vulnerable to slides, forest fires, and spills. He showed a potential for two micro hydro generators that would make power and help pay for the project. Its not getting any younger. We have solar panels at the dam?
Nakusp installed a 50kW micro hydro generator on their water system for $150,000, power for
50 homes. At night, when it snows, in winter, in the rain good for a century.
We have solar panels at the dam, worthless in summer when they make power and they don't make power in winter.
NOTE:
An on line public bio for Alex Love, engineer and manager of Nelson hydro states he installed
his first solar system in 2000 and had subsequent experience with solar systems.
So why did he bother getting a consultant to provide a business case?
I have no confidence in his management or the city CAO who has the ultimate responsibility.
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| As costs soared the commercial metal mounting system was replaced by
wood, (cheaper) not what one would typically find for any commercial quality solar system. Will this be cheaper in 25 years or need replacing long before? There is much more, the 288 strand submarine fiber optic cable to the north shore for what? Nelson hydro purposes according to the hydro manager in his reply to the BCUC, a different story from the CAO. City councilors can be held financially responsible, the previous mayor and council and present all had all this information and did nothing. In my view this makes them complicit and accountable to the public they serve for this phony project waste of public money. What should happen, tell the truth, give every church group co-op and individual their money back for this phony engineered deceptive public information project and try to get whatever money back selling off the solar panels and start making profits from selling cleaner greener water power. We would all be further ahead and the city would reduce its carbon footprint. Solar is expensive dirty power compared to our own clean green water power and profits. |
There are problems in the design, agreed! I don't believe anyone on this project actually had prior experience with solar. The contract went to a low bidder. Maybe it would be done differently if it were done again. The intent of the project was to be pioneering. Community projects like these are done to inspire and usher in innovation.
ReplyDeleteThe real rip off is happening at Site "C". That is what you ought to be blogging about.
Its not about solar pioneering its about public dishonesty by professionals and all others. The Project was submitted to the BCUC as FULLY funded and voluntary. Its nothing of the sort. All Nelson hydro customers are paying, full retail for power we dont need while profits otherwise generated by cleaner greener water go down the river. To be an honest project those who opted in will each need to pay at least another $1000/panel/25 year contract. All future costs and ONLY receive Nelson hydro's wholesale cost of power. That would end the phony warm fuzzy feeling those misled into thinking this was a green project. Paying upwards of $2000/panel/contract and receiving possibly $2/year and paying for all future costs will go a long way to educating the masses misled here thinking solar has some value in future transitioning to non renewables.
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