Solar panel investment pays off for Armour Township families

Two Armour Township families are halfway through a program where they produce green energy for Hydro One and both are pleased with the results.

In 2014 Deborah and Peter Kurtze and their friends  Christine and Volkher Lauffer signed 20-year contracts under Ontario’s  Micro Feed-in-Tariffs program where their solar panels provide renewable energy to Hydro One’s grid.

The Lauffers put 38 solar panels on their barn roof to produce about 10 kilowatts of power daily depending on how much sun there is.

The Kurtzes installed 40 rooftop panels on their home.

Peter Kurtze says that the renewable energy his panels generate is enough to supply power to three homes daily.

Under their agreement, people like the Kurtzes and Lauffers can sell solar power to the grid at a guaranteed price of 39 cents per kilowatt hour and then buy it back for personal use at 12 cents a kilowatt hour.

Christine Lauffer says if there was a drawback it’s that the participant has to pay for the equipment upfront.

The  Kurtzes and Lauffers paid about $34,000 each for the solar panels and related equipment but Christine Lauffer said that initial investment for both families paid for itself in seven years.

“It has worked out well and we have no regrets,” said Christine Lauffer.

“We feel good about what we did because it’s helped to keep our (greenhouse gas emissions) as small as possible which is good for our grandchildren and future generations. The solar panels make sense for everyone.”

Peter  Kurtze says he and his wife “made a business” from selling back to the grid and there’s no denying that participants have benefitted from the  FIT program.

However, Kurtze does point out that you need sunny days and obviously during the winter participants are not going to get much solar power because most days are cloudy and there’s plenty of snow.

For example, from Dec. 4, 2024, to January 2025 the Kurtzes earned only $62 when supplying the grid with green energy.

But he points out that with the return of more sunny days once winter ends, he can easily generate $600 in revenue from one month’s worth of sun power.

Kurtze says in the 10 years he’s been generating power he has not encountered a single problem related to any of the equipment.

Volkher Lauffer says the only issue he’s had with the program was a small part became defective and it was immediately replaced at no cost.

With 10 years left on the FIT contracts, Volkher Lauffer isn’t sure what happens when the contract ends.

“No decisions have been made yet,” he said.

However,  he believes he will keep feeding the solar energy he produces into the grid but adds the Lauffers would not likely be paid as much.

Lauffer says the solar panels have been very dependable and efficient during the first 10 years.

“They have a 20-year warranty,” he said.

“After 20 years they’re supposed to produce 80 per cent (power) of their capacity.”

One thing Lauffer has noticed is how quickly solar technology has changed in the time he and his wife have been part of the FIT program.

He says while the Kurtzes paid $34,000 to be part of the program in 2014,  the prices of solar panels have come down significantly and they have also become more efficient.

“So, it might take about 20 solar panels today to produce the same amount of power that we do with our 40 panels,” he said.

The Lauffers have other friends who have bought into solar panel technology and they are all happy with their decisions.

Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with NorthBayNipissing.com. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.