This summer, alumnus Clifton Lofthaug (Electrical Engineering Technology ’04) returned to NAIT as a renewable energy entrepreneur. As owner of Great Canadian Solar Ltd., he designed and installed a working solar photovoltaic (PV) system for the institute’s new Alternative Energy Technology program.

Located on the roof of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technology, the entire system has enough generation capacity to meet 40 per cent of the needs of a typical Edmonton household. It will be used to teach installation, inspection and maintenance, as well as how to measure output and efficiency.

Perhaps most importantly, though, it (along with studies in geothermal and wind energy, micro-hydro systems, fuel cells, biofuel production, carbon capture technology and more) will give students a first-hand glimpse of Alberta’s rapidly growing renewable energy industry.

Here, Lofthaug shares his insight into the kinds of opportunities that might be available to the program’s first 24 students, and to the province in its efforts to continue to complement its largely petroleum-based economy.

I always wanted to set up my own business and I saw great potential in alternative energy. I started Great Canadian Solar in 2009. Initially, I had a company that did residential and commercial electrical installation, but I was always looking for an area of specialization – something that would set me apart.

My first project came when I chatted with a family, the Bococks, following a presentation by the Solar Energy Society of Alberta. They had been thinking of installing a PV system on one of their barns, and they invited me to meet them to talk about it.

The Bococks took a real chance on me when others may not have; they knew this would be my first installation and that I wasn’t very experienced. Still, they gave me the opportunity to prove myself. I owe a lot of my success to them.

Today, I specialize in the design and installation of residential, commercial, institutional and agricultural PV power systems. My customers range from homeowners, churches and net-zero home builders to low-income housing groups such as west Edmonton’s Brentwood Family Housing Society.

Once completed, the Brentwood apartment building, with a 33-kilowatt system – about enough to power six average homes for a year – will be the largest grid-connected PV energy system in northern Alberta. Being able to lead the design and construction on a project for an organization that helps house low-income families is fantastic.

It’s rewarding, knowing that I’m doing something for the environment and working with like-minded, very environmentally and socially driven customers who want to do something good for the world. They enjoy knowing that all or a portion of the electrical energy they use is produced from renewable energy.

Overall, there is growing interest in renewable energy, especially in solar. As part of its “The Way We Green” environmental strategic plan, the City of Edmonton is looking long-term at how we use and generate energy.

Last fall, it launched a short-term solar-electric pilot program that offered rebates for home and business owners interested in installing solar electricity generation capacity. The initial $200,000 budget was quickly spent, and the program was oversubscribed, with 21 residential grants approved and six for commercial properties.

I think there’s a bright future for grads of the Alternative Energy Technology program, especially since the world is embracing renewable energy. It is challenging here in Alberta, even though solar is low-maintenance and cost effective. I think Alberta could be well served by following Ontario’s lead.

In Ontario, the provincial government has introduced a renewable energy feed-in tariff program that offers guaranteed prices for electricity generated by alternative energy systems, including solar PV. By encouraging development of renewable energy, the program is expected to help Ontario phase out coal-fired electricity generation by 2014.

This is spurring manufacturing jobs in that province. If Alberta followed Ontario’s example, I think there will be even more opportunities for AET grads who want to design, develop, manufacture and install renewable energy products.

As told to Rachelle Drouin