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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - JANUARY 2012
GRO: What was the purpose
for the RET Centre, and how
has it changed?
TN: We had an idea of creating a
neutral space for education. A place
where there is emphasis on learning
and not the manufacture of
products themselves.
Klaus Dohring: We renovated the
old building and gave it a new
educational purpose, and now
showcase the latest and best in
renewable energy technologies,
focusing on showing people solar
technologies. It also has a dedicated
training area.
Overall, the RET Centre is about
science. People want to get their
hands on products. They want to
touch and feel them. I can talk until
I’m blue in the face about renewable
energy, but we have to be able to
show people how it works. Not to
mention, by the very nature of what
we do the solar business slows in
the winter, so we have the Centre to
keep things going until spring.
GRO: How has the market
changed since Green Sun
Rising came to be? There is
certainly a lot more activity
now in Ontario than there
used to be.
KD: When we started this
business there was hardly any solar
industry in Canada on the whole.
This is the problem: when you have
a resource rich nation, but no
population density, it is hard to see
the need to change things. This
makes Canada one of the most
difficult nations in the world to
promote renewables in. In Germany,
the country is resource poor but
people rich. When you have people
living on top of each other, problems
occur early and you have to change.
Germany is an excellent example as
are other neighbouring companies.
Those countries are coming up with
brilliant technologies and solutions
for problems that will eventually
occur here as well. Canada is
decades behind them, but this is an
opportunity.
SOLAR - GREEN SUN RISING