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Solar power in Canada Canada has abundant solar energy resources, with the largest resources being found in southern Ontario, Quebec and the Prairies. The territories have a smaller potential because of their higher latitude, which results in less direct sunlight. The amount of solar energy available across the country varies with the season, latitude, weather conditions and the time of day. To date, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Canada have been for non-electricity active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops and lumber. In 2001, there were more than 12,000 residential solar water heating systems in homes and 300 commercial and industrial solar hot water systems in use. These systems make up a small fraction of Canada’s energy use, but some government studies suggest they could make up as much as five per cent of the country’s energy needs by the year 2025. Canada has many regions that are sparsely populated and somewhat inaccessible. In these places, the nearest power line can be hundreds of kilometres away. For that reason, PV cells are increasingly used as standalone units across the country, mostly as off-grid distributed electricity generation to power remote homes, cottages, telecommunications equipment, oil and pipeline monitoring stations and navigational devices. One of the most important potential uses for PV cells is in northern communities, many of which depend on high-cost diesel fuel to generate electricity. Since the 1970s, the federal government and industry have been actively involved in developing solar technologies for these communities. Some of these efforts have focused on the development of hybrid systems that provide power 24 hours a day, using solar power when sunlight is available and another energy source the rest of the time. The Canadian PV market has grown at an average rate of 25 per cent each year for the last eight years. Canadian companies make solar modules, controls, specialized water pumps, high efficiency refrigerators and solar lighting systems. In early 2003, Canada’s installed capacity of PV systems was about 10 megawatts, compared with one megawatt in 1992.
 
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Cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic systems in Canada
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