SOLAR ONTARIO 2015
SOLAR ONTARIO 2015 Between May 25th and May 27th 2015, the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) held the fifth annual Solar Ontario conference. The event brought together 300 industry professionals and stakeholders for important discussions about the present and future of solar energy in Ontario.
People from Canada, the US, Europe, and China gathered at Niagara Falls to discuss public feedback about the industry, a brand new Cap-and-Trade scheme, and the future opportunities which will be created by an expanding sector. As in previous years the emphasis was on bringing together experts in their field in order to build better communication through shared knowledge and topics of discussion; unlike previous years Solar Ontario 2015 was able to offer an 52 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
expanded program in a purely conference format, enabling attendees to delve deeper into topics and issues currently affecting the North American solar energy industry. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES The conference was opened by speeches from Jim Diodati, Mayor of Niagara Falls, Bob Waddell, General Manager of Centrosolar Canada and Chair of the CanSIA Board of Directors, and John Gorman,
CanSIA’s President and CEO. The speeches focused largely on new possibilities which have been created by the sector’s recent growth. “The costs of solar are rapidly declining,” said Mr. Gorman, “heralding a new era in clean energy production.” This message was bolstered by JoAnne Butler, Vice President of Market and Resource Development at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), when she revealed the sizeable impact solar is making on the