Solar energy is growing fast in Canada, but panels are imported. Could we try to make them here?

When a half-century-old apartment block in a northwestern Toronto neighbourhood needed its balconies renovated, its owners decided to take the opportunity to try to bring down the building's electricity use. Instead of regular balcony guards, they installed solar panels.

"It reduces the energy bill and the electricity consumption of the building," said Stephen Job, vice-president of Tenblock, a climate-conscious developer that works on energy-conscious construction and retrofit projects and was contracted by the building's owner for the retrofit. 

Using solar energy is better for the environment because it produces fewer emissions, he says, but it's also good for the business "because the building saves a little bit of money over the long term."

About 80 per cent of the world's solar panels are manufactured in China, by far the leader in the renewable energy technology. Most of Canada's solar panels come from Vietnam, another major manufacturer, followed by Malaysia and China. 

But Tenblock didn't have to look overseas for their panels — they found the technology manufactured just a 15-minute drive away.

Mitrex makes its solar equipment in nearby Etobicoke, specializing in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), or solar panels that do double duty as part of a building's façade. Their solar panels can act as cladding, walls, roofs, windows — and balcony guards.

It's one of the last companies making any of its own solar equipment in Canada, despite the fact that solar energy is booming. Between 2019 and 2024, solar energy capacity nearly doubled in Canada.

And building a solar manufacturing base is no easy task, according to Mitrex's CEO Danial Hadizadeh.

"You can't just expect the oranges to come off the trees. You have to prepare the land, plant the seed, wait for the trees to grow," he said.

"If you want a solar future or any form of renewable future for Canada, it's going to take five to 10 years."

Job says having the panels they used manufactured nearby was helpful because people involved with the building renovation could visit Mitrex, meet the engineers and understand how it all worked. They could also get the panels built and delivered faster, and eliminate carbon emissions associated with overseas shipping.

"It's not something that goes into a queue and a factory somewhere halfway around the world," he said.

But other solar companies in Canada don't have that option; they cannot find local manufacturers of panels at the scale and price they need and have to import panels and other parts from abroad.

Katherine Zhou is the co-founder of PV Technical Services in Brant, Ont., which has developed roof shingles that produce solar energy.