Welcome to VISE!
Valley Initiative for Solar Energy
(North Toronto)

Do you care about the environment?

Do you want to reduce your carbon footprint and save money on your energy bill?

Using solar energy is an environmentally friendly, cost effective, way to generate electricity.

The Valley Initiative for Solar Energy (VISE) is a group dedicated to sourcing out quality solar energy vendors for our community. Ordering the units en masse will enable us to get a group discount on the units. VISE has issued a Request for Proposals to vendors with a deadline of February 28, 2008.  Stay tuned for more information once we have evaluated the bids and made our decision.

Meetings

We held our most recent community meeting on Thursday June 12, 2022 where community members met the selected solar vendors and had their questions answered. This resulted in more people submitting sign up forms for a free home assessment.

Now is the time! Summer is a busy time for solar suppliers, so if you are interested in joining this initiative please submit a signed Sign Up Form asap and it will be forwarded on to the appropriate supplier.

ARISE Technologies has won the bid as the PV supplier.

We have chosen ARISE Technologies to be the selected vendor for PV solar systems.  ARISE was chosen based on their pricing, experience in and around the Toronto area, and their well respected customer service.  Jerry Austin is our designated ARISE contact person, and part of the VISE project management team. If you would like to contact Jerry directly he can be reached at  [email protected], or at 416-602-3691.

If you would like to take the next step and arrange for a free home assessment please submit this sign up sheet 

 GOLDWATER SOLAR SYSTEMS has won the bid to be the solar hot water and solar pool heating supplier.

Goldwater has extensive experience in the Toronto area, and can customize a system per home if you would like both systems installed.

If you would like to contact Aaron Goldwater, our VISE project leader, you can do so at [email protected], or at 416-400-4747.

If you would like to take the next step and arrange for a free home assessment for solar hot water and/or sola pool heating please submit this sign up sheet

INFORMATION FROM ARISE TECHNOLOGIES

 ARISE Technologies welcomes the opportunity to partner with the Valley Initiative for Solar Energy.  We hope to build on the success and experience from our partnership with Canada’s largest urban solar community, the West Toronto Initiative for Solar Energy, and help make solar a mainstream source of energy in your community.   

For those of us increasingly concerned about climate change, the benefits of solar generated power (PV) are well-established: PV is a proven, reliable, and clean source of energy that has been widely adopted in Europe and Asia.  In Ontario, we are just beginning to recognize its clear benefits, and the province’s Standard Offer Contract and PST rebate on solar arrays are helping to promote its wider adoption.

What is new is that the economic argument for solar generated power becomes stronger with each day, particularly in Ontario.  Energy prices are climbing, our manufacturing sector is faltering, and nuclear power continues to be plagued with cost overruns, decommissionings, and the promise(?) of more debt recovery charges passed on to our children and their heirs.

In terms of widespread solar adoption, Ontario is at the stage Germany was at 10 years ago.  Germany is now the world’s largest manufacturer and user of PV panels, with 240,000 employees in the renewable energy sector. Let’s encourage Ontario to follow their model: solar power offers terrific benefits for our economic development, and a source of reliable distributed generation that peaks when our demand is greatest.

Your principled decision to invest benefits our environment and makes a clear statement of your values and priorities.  That decision is also very important in establishing the roadmap for Ontario’s future energy supply mix.   Where is Ontario headed now?  By 2027, 55% of our energy supply is slated to come from nuclear power, one-quarter of 1% is from PV—that is the current 20-year plan.

Changes in public policy start at a grassroots level. As Canadian marketing guru David Herle recently said, “Politicians don’t organize parades, but they like to get in front of the parade once it gets started.”  Join the parade, and benefit our collective health and the health of the planet.

Jerry Austin

VISE Project Contact

[email protected]

 VISE Solar PV Package for 2008

ARISE Technologies has put together 1KW, 2 KW, 2.7 KW and 3 KW packages for the Valley Initiative.  The all-in system prices range from less than $14,000 for a 1 KW system to over $30,000 for a 3 KW system.  The installed cost per KW decreases as system size increases.

Pricing is based on standard two storey residential installations.  Homes with installations of unusual complexity, or requiring additional work specified by Toronto Hydro may require price revisions.  We perform a thorough site assessment and identify additional costs to you prior to commencing work.

Our system prices are turnkey—meaning taxes, permits, fees, installation, and all applications under the Standard Offer Contract are included.  The last item is vital in having your system connected and activated quickly—no other PV vendor offers that service.

ARISE is now offering a web-based Cachelan monitoring system as a system option.  We’ve installed this superior monitoring system at the West Toronto Initiative for Solar Energy reference home:  http://da.arise.solarvu.net.

For additional information go to: Overview of Grid Connected PV System,

 System Options

Estimated Energy Production

Community Partnerships and Sample Installations