Oxford County Case Study

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Case Study: Oxford County Goes Green

Project Background

Oxford County serves eight municipalities in Southwestern Ontario, delivering services such as public health, social assistance, waste management, transportation, infrastructure, and housing. As part of its housing initiatives, Oxford County partnered with Guelph Solar to implement a solar energy system for one of its affordable housing complexes.

The 57.2kW solar photovoltaic system supports the County’s transition toward renewable energy and aligns with its sustainability goals, setting a strong example for other municipalities considering clean energy solutions.

System & Technology

The 57.2kW solar energy system was designed to maximize the the available roof space to provide as much energy generation as possible to offset the existing energy consumption.

Solar Panels

104 - 550W Longi solar panels

Optimizers

52 SolarEdge optimizers

Grid-Tied Inverters

Generated (1st yr)

50kW 3-phase SolarEdge inverter

System Monitoring

Solarvu & SolarEdge monitoring

System Operation

The net-metered system provides real-time energy to the facility during daylight hours, reducing grid reliance. Excess energy is exported back to the grid via a bi-directional meter, and thanks to net metering energy credits are earned and used during low generation periods of the year.

Real-time monitoring tracks performance across all system components and provides data on power production, weather, and environmental, and financial savings.

Financial Overview

To assess the project’s financial impact, the following assumptions were used:

Utility Rate: $0.15/kWh
Utility Rate Inflation: 2% annually over 25 years
Solar Output Degradation: 0.6% annually
First-Year Generation: 67,710 kWh
Inverter Replacement: One-time over the system’s life

Based on these factors, payback is projected in year 12, with total lifetime savings estimated at $151,356.11.

With every investment comes the time required to recover the money spent on the project. For this project, the following assumptions were made to evaluate an approximate payback period

On an average the County would expect to pay $0.15/kWh as their utility rate. We would consider the same for calculating the savings for solar.
We will consider 2% inflation annually for this existing utility rate for a period of 25 years.
0.6% annual degradation in annual energy generation from solar has been considered.
First year annual generation has been considered as 67,710 kWh as shared earlier
One time Inverter replacement has also been considered over the life of the project.

Based on the above assumptions, we have come up with the following chart for the payback analysis. As can be seen, the payback will approximately be in the 12th year of the project whereas the gross savings over the life of the project would be $151,356.11

Project Impact

This installation is expected to:

Generate 67,710 kWh annually
Offset approximately 7 metric tons of CO₂ per year
Provide the environmental benefit of 5 acres of forest

The success of this project supports Oxford County's commitment to sustainable living and opens the door for future renewable energy initiatives across other facilities.

This installation is expected to:

Generate 67,710 kWh annually
Offset approximately 7 metric tons of CO₂ per year
Provide the environmental benefit of 5 acres of forest

The success of this project supports Oxford County's commitment to sustainable living and opens the door for future renewable energy initiatives across other facilities.