Canada's Largest Rooftop PV System Now On Loyalty One Building

December 10, 2009

PV covered carport with plug in hybrid.

The Loyalty One building, manager of Air Miles rewards programs, is now the home for the largest rooftop solar system in all of Canada. Though the system is only 165 kilowatts, it's enough to power the entire building, thanks to its LEED silver and gold certifications. (Comparatively one of the largest rooftop arrays in the US this year went online at 2.37 MW). Then again, getting 800 solar panels on the rooftop of one building, is no small feat.

The solar panels are both on the rooftop of the building and on an adjacent carport and the system itself is large enough to power 16 average sized homes. How can the building be both gold and silver LEED certified? Well, it was constructed to be one of the greenest buildings in Canada and the interior was built to LEED Gold standards, while the exterior was built to LEED Silver standards. Constructing a new building with green standards in mind ahead of time, helps when it comes to installing a PV system as the building is already trimmed down and more efficient, thus necessitating the purchase of fewer PV panels, aka financial savings. Planning ahead means financial savings by not having to purchase unnecessary energy.

The wall with the inverters has been designed so that employees and guests can see in real time how much the system is producing. Instead of just hanging the inverters behind drywall, the inverters are now exposed to the lunch and gaming room. The carport is reserved for employees with high efficiency vehicles or for those who choose to bike to work.

The LoyaltyOne program manages Air Miles programs as well as works with over 100 retail companies on marketing strategies and research. Roughly 300 employees work in the building that is now 100% solar powered. :Loyalty
More on Solar in Canada
Building Canadian Solar: Cell by Cell by Cell
SunPark: Moving Forward on Canada's First Solar Park
Ontario Gets 407 Megawatts of Solar Power Contracts, Originally Expected 88 Megawatts
All Canadian Homes to Be Zero Energy Homes by 2030?