Turning parking lots into power

As summer temperatures soar, parking lots can easily become sizzling heat traps, absorbing and retaining heat that raises local temperatures to create urban heat islands. This makes these under-utilized areas prime real estate for the solar energy industry, which is finding creative ways to keep us cool.

VCT Group is taking a proactive approach to beat the heat and sees spaces like asphalt parking lots as hot commodities. The Kitchener-based company is installing solar carports and canopies, turning these spaces into dual-use environments. This strategy helps counteract heat build-up by providing shade, while also generating renewable energy to help power nearby facilities.

“We’re able to use this space that was originally designed just to park cars to also generate power – and it’s clean power. It’s solar,” said Zac Joliffe, Business Development Manager at VCT Group. “We create shade, which is nice for the people underneath it, and nice for cities as a whole.”

Founded in 2008, VCT Group first ventured into small-scale wind and waterpower projects. The company pivoted after the introduction of the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Program, which encourages and promotes the greater use of renewable energy sources, such as wind, waterpower, renewable biomass, biogas, landfill gas and solar photovoltaic (“solar PV”) for electricity-generating projects in the province.  Since then, VCT Group has installed over 300 projects with a focus on commercial and industrial rooftops. Joliffe says they’ve experienced record-breaking demand for their business over the past year.

“We have just had the best 12 months of sales that we’ve ever had as a company,” said Joliffe. “We’re seeing huge interest across all sorts of different sectors to lower their operational costs through solar, and see a good return on their investment, driven by the pressure to decarbonize.”

Zac Joliffe, Business Development Manager at VCT Group

VCT Group is installing a rooftop solar project at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, a secondary school in Kitchener. The project will include over 850 solar panels that will generate enough clean energy to cover all of Rockway’s energy needs for decades to come. Community Energy Development Co-operative (CED Co-op) is leading the funding of the project’s development and construction costs, and Rockway will be able to benefit from accessing the clean energy generated at the school through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

“We’re actively working to help people install solar and help reduce demand on the grid,” said Joliffe.

Joliffe attributes the recent resurgence of solar to advancements in technology and supportive policies such as the Clean Tech Investment Tax Credit (CT ITC), a refundable tax credit for capital invested in the adoption and operation of new clean technology in Canada, from March 28, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2034.

“That’s a nice tailwind for the industry right now,” said Joliffe.

These incentives make solar investments more attractive by aligning financial benefits with environmental goals. Solar technology has also become more affordable for organizations implementing these solutions – and the companies creating them.

“Solar panel components have gotten a lot cheaper over the past decade, and so the cost to install solar is significantly less than it was 10 years ago,” said Joliffe.

Apart from incentives and cost savings, there’s a significant push for all major sectors to cut down on carbon emissions. The Canadian government has a plan to achieve substantial emissions reductions by 2030 and is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We need incentives for organizations to consider these things up front with new construction, rather than just as part of a retrofit,” said Joliffe. “So we see renewable power as more of a necessary cog in the wheel, rather than a nice-to-have, which has been the case in the past.”

A Communitech ecosystem partner, VCT Group is looking to expand beyond Canada. In addition to building solar carports and canopies, Joliffe says they plan to market their in-house-designed solar canopy solution as a ready-made product to similar companies worldwide.

“We want to be a product supplier for solar construction companies across Canada and into the U.S.,” said Joliffe.

VCT Group also builds residential and commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 130,000 electric vehicles were sold in Canada in 2023, which marks a 35 per cent increase over 2022 sales. VCT Group sees demand for EV charging continuing to grow and believes that investing in EV charging infrastructure adds equity and increases property value.

“We’re big believers in the electrification of everything,” said Joliffe. “This is how we get a cleaner economy. This is how we do better, and the world is rapidly moving this way.”