Simons Canada has installed solar on its Edmonton store and has built a solar-powered net-zero store in Quebec. Photo Simons Canada
By David Dodge & Scott Rollans
Multinational businesses like Google, Apple and IKEA are all striving to run on 100 per cent renewable energy. Recently, Green Energy Futures looked at Canadian retailer Simons and its investment in solar and net-zero store in Quebec.
Now we’re starting to see Alberta businesses embracing renewable energy.
Calgary’s CDR Systems manufactures and exports products to precisely position cancer patients when they’re receiving radiotherapy. The company is now powered by 100 per cent renewable solar energy. It started as a modest idea.
Carl Denis amidst a sea of solar that now powers his medical device export business in Calgary, Alberta. Photo supplied
To be or not to be green
“We basically thought, oh we’ll start with a nice, cute system,” says Carl Denis, CEO of CDR Systems. “You know, we will be able to say we’re green; we’ve got a few panels. We will show those off, and it’ll be just a great attractive, kind of thing that will tie in with our whole message of innovative products.”
But, what started out as an idea to add a few cosmetic solar modules quickly evolved into something much more ambitious.
“As we researched it further, we realized, well, can we can maximize our space on the roof and actually make a real impact?” says Denis. “And, it’s not just a matter of a cute little system. It’s actually the opportunity to replace all of our current power needs — and have an impact, not only on our on our image and our ‘green feeling, but actually our bottom line.”
100 per cent renewable energy
The result: a sea of solar modules on the roof of the CDR plant in Calgary. Denis installed 219 400-watt modules—with a capacity of 87.6 kilowatts, enough to satisfy all current electricity needs. “So, we have 210 on the roof and then we put nine on the front of the building.”
When you arrive at CDR, you can’t miss those nine modules—and that’s completely deliberate. “The ones in the front, we’re making sure we can show it off and be proud,” Denis says. “We’re trying to demonstrate what we think Alberta’s new economy should look like—we should be using viable innovations where we can.”
Denis got into the radiotherapy business shortly after graduating from SAIT in 2001. “The year I graduated, I was able to begin my internship at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre—and from there the company formed.” CDR now sells its products worldwide. “We’re working cancer centres all around the world, in Europe, Australia—and more recently we’re entering the market in India and China.”
CDR Systems Calgary solar-powered manufacturing plant. Photo supplied
It’s about the bottom line and the global marketplace
Denis says CDR’s investment in solar will pay off and add to the bottom line. But, Denis also believes it will help position his company in the global marketplace.
CDR manufactures and exports patient positioning devices for cancer patients.
“Well the number one thing for us … we have to compete in global markets and it really came down to will our customers in Australia care about this? We believe that they do,” says Denis. He wants to project the image of a company “that is deeply rooted in innovation… and solar is a glaring example of how we could it.”
Denis says it’s also about attracting good talent: “It enriches our message about what our company is about, and instills the culture we have here.”
Denis’s family has solar on an off-grid home, but he long thought it was a bit of a “pipe dream” to run his business off of solar power. “My parents have a place out in B.C. –– they’re completely off grid and always have been there is no power there. So that planted the seed.”
Solar affordable
Today that pipe dream has become reality and he is convinced solar is a good investment. “Over the long run we think it’s a no brainer. We have sunny skies here in Calgary, some of the sunniest in the country,” says Denis.
So should other businesses go solar?
“I think if there is a stigma about the costs they should look into that, because the systems are coming down in price. I think that they will find that it’s implementable in terms of cost. Right away, they’ll demonstrate their leadership in terms of the natural resources they use. I would suggest they definitely consider, it and check out how straightforward the process is.”