On March 30, 2016, BC’s first community-owned solar energy project was officially launched at Vancouver Cedar Cottage Cohousing located at 1733 East 33rd Avenue in East Vancouver. Solshare Energy’s 23 kW solar photovoltaic system, installed by Vancouver Renewable Energy, is situated on a multi-family residential cohousing complex and will provide electricity for the common areas. […]
We are often asked how much solar energy can be generated in Vancouver from a nominal kW of photovoltiac modules. Our best preforming system in the Lower Mainland is located in Richmond and generates 1,280 kWh / kW. The owner of the system has not made the detailed data available online publicly. But here is […]
VREC recently completed another grid-tie photovoltaic (PV) installation in East Vancouver. The fourteen module photovoltaic system mounted on the south-facing upper roof will produce approximately 4,200 kWh annually – enough to supply the average Vancouver home with nearly half its energy needs or to power an energy efficient household year-round. An average Canadian household uses […]
Combining Solar Energy and Tesla EV in Vancouver.
Eleven years ago we became the first contractor to install a grid-tie solar energy system in Vancouver (and as far as we know, the first one in BC). Over the decade since then, we have installed a range of residential, commercial and institutional systems. However, we have never seen a year like 2015. This year […]
Vancouver’s winter Bike to Work Week has wrapped up for another year, and once again VREC has dominated our industry sector. Actually, it appears that VREC was the only solar installer that participated in Bike to Work Week. VREC is committed to reducing fossil fuel consumption and other forms of pollution in all that we […]
We have put together an interactive map of the solar energy installations we have done since 2004 Zoom out to view our installations outside the Lower Mainland.In some cases you can see the current production of the solar energy systems. Click on the icon for the link. You can also see a map of just […]
Join Vancouver Renewable Energy (VREC) and SPEC as we celebrate 10 years of grid-tie photovoltaic energy in Vancouver. In July 2005, VREC installed the first grid-tie photovoltaic (electric solar energy) system in Vancouver on the SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) Energy Demonstration Centre. The system was installed with support from Vancity and the Real Estate Foundation. […]
VREC is pleased to launch a new project that allows BC residents to invest in cooperatively-owned community energy projects. Even if you don’t own a home or can’t afford to install a complete system, you can still own part of a solar energy system. For more information visit solshare.ca.
There is a lot of hype about the announcement of Tesla’s Powerwall Battery. Most of the press and social media postings are missing a few key points / questions. Here are some important points to remember from a BC perspective: Battery storage for homes is not something new. It has been around for decades. There […]