The Manitoba Hydro Solar Program is designed and established for electricity consumers who wish to have solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed in their homes in Manitoba to power their entire household with the alternative power source that is solar energy.
Availability and Requirements of the Manitoba Hydro Solar Program
The Manitoba Hydro Solar Program can be availed by residential consumers as well as commercial establishments and industrial customers.
The solar PV system should be connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid and should follow the standard procedures of distributed resource interconnection.
If you decide to use and subscribe to the Manitoba Hydro Solar Program, you will be granted incentives such as Manitoba Hydro rebates which will be paid by the end of the solar PV system installation project and upon its passing the inspection procedures. As well, the incentives will be limited, based on the average annual power consumption of your household or commercial and industrial site using the kWh unit.
You can learn more about the average annual power consumption of your site or establishment through directly asking for information from Manitoba Hydro using your account number. This is to give you an idea of your expected incentives.
How to Partake in the Manitoba Hydro Solar Program
How to partake in the Manitoba Hydro Solar Program involves completion of applications and providing of the necessary paperwork.
Upon approval by Manitoba Hydro, you will need a certified and licensed electrical contractor, such as Powertec Electric Inc., to install your solar PV system.
After which, a thorough electrical inspection will be performed on the solar panels, along with the rest of the solar PV system. Your installed solar system should be able to pass the standards and criteria of the electrical inspection.
With regards to receiving your incentives, completion of certain documentations should be done. These documents include the Solar Energy Program Completion Declaration, a copy of the official proof that your solar system has indeed passed the standard electrical inspection, and paid invoices of the electrical contractor.
How Solar PV System Works
How solar PV system works involves the conversion of sunlight into useful and functional electrical power through the photoelectric effect.
The process happens as follows:
When the photons or light energies from the sun hit the solar cells, there will be a reaction, which will then release negatively charged electrons which, in turn, produce power to generate electric current.
The Many Uses of Solar PV System in Households and Commercial and Industrial Establishments
Some of the many uses of solar PV system in households and commercial and industrial establishments are powering garden and pathway lighting systems and generating electricity for functioning of appliances, equipment and other machineries.
Basically, a solar PV system can be utilized and can run households and businesses alike. However, its generation and storage of power greatly depends on the sizes of the solar panels, the number of the solar panels, and the capacity of the storage batteries. As well, there will be a large difference between a grid solar system and an off-grid solar system.