Canadian lights up the future with solar-powered energy

A Canadian installed a grid-connected solar power generating system on the roof of a building that dates back to the 1930s.

The small power station has six solar panels with four connected directly to the Shanghai electric grid. Jason Inch installed it on the roof of his office at Yongjia Road in Xuhui District.

The solar-powered system offsets energy use significantly, including supporting the 70-plus 10-watt LED bulbs in the six-storey house. On sunny days, it can generate nearly 1 kilowatt per hour of electricity and the surplus power is sold to the grid. During cloudy days, it drops to 0.1 kilowatt/hour and draws from the grid, balancing each other well.

As per the existing rules at the time, Inch could earn 0.4 yuan by selling 1 kilowatt/hour of electricity and another 0.3 yuan as government allowance. Design and installation cost nearly 20,000 yuan — Andrea Liu, then operation manager of LOHAUS, noted it would likely take at least 10 years to see returns. Inch said money was not the criteria.

Excerpt from Shanghai Daily (17 Apr 2014), also carried on the Shanghai municipal news digest. Age wording from the original piece is omitted here as period-specific.