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Canadian lights up the future in Shanghai with solar-powered energy

2014-04-17 12:35 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Yao Lan
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Canadian Jason Inch checks the solar panels in Xuhui District yesterday. The six solar panels he installed on the roof of his office can support 70- plus 10-watt LED bulbs in the six-storey building. He sells the surplus power to the local power grid. — Xinhua

Canadian Jason Inch checks the solar panels in Xuhui District yesterday. The six solar panels he installed on the roof of his office can support 70- plus 10-watt LED bulbs in the six-storey building. He sells the surplus power to the local power grid. — Xinhua

A 42-year-old 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. The Canadian, Jason Inch, has installed it on the roof of his office at Yongjia Road in Xuhui District earlier this month.

The solar-powered system offsets the energy use significantly, including supporting the 70-plus 10-watt LED bulbs in the six-storey house, Inch said.

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 will need electricity from the grid, thus balancing each other well, he said.

As per the existing rules, Inch can earn 0.4 yuan by selling 1 kilowatt/hour of electricity and another 0.3 yuan as government allowance.

It cost Inch nearly 20,000 yuan (US$3,214) for design and installation, and it would likely take at least 10 years to get any returns on it, said Andrea Liu, the operation manager of Inch's company, LOHAUS, a social enterprise that promotes a lifestyle of health and urban sustainability. However, Inch said money was not a criteria for him.

"I want to show that we can do it," he said, adding that his office "demonstrates the possibility" that solar energy can be made accessible to every household, even those living in older structures.

LOHAUS's office building is the first downtown Shanghai location to connect solar energy directly to the grid. It is also the oldest building in Shanghai to have solar panels on its roof.

In January 2013, Dang Jihu became the first person in Shanghai to make use of the new ruling. He installed a solar power generating system on top of his apartment building in Jiuting Town, Songjiang District.

Liu said they started preparing for the project since very early last summer.

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