Solar Project Award on Thetis Island

APsystems awarded Oceanvolt the Solar Project of the Year for the Forbes Hall Community Centre on Thetis Island. This community centre is situated on the beautiful traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Puneluxutth’ (Penelakut) First Nation and the Lyackson First Nation, of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group of the Coast Salish.

To achieve this milestone, Oceanvolt used a 40 kW solar panel. This allows the community centre to generate 95–100% of its annual energy use! As a result, solar energy now powers the Forbes Hall Community Centre’s many electrical features.

Free Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging on Thetis Island

In addition to powering the building with solar power, the community centre now also powers a free electric car charger. You can use the free EV charger on the honour system for up to 2 hours at 292 North Cove Road.

Community Kitchen Powered By Solar Power

Inside, the Forbes Hall Community Centre Kitchen was recently expanded and refitted. These redesigns allow for larger events in a safer workspace for volunteers and workers. It also allows for weekly food service programs, special community events, and emergency food service. 

Today, this kitchen’s uses range from rentals for private catered events. Community commercial cooking and baking of delicious food for sale outside of the Forbes Hall Community Centre is also possible. Families can even use this kitchen to prepare their home-grown foods from their home gardens. Because solar energy now powers almost the entire community centre, power outages on Thetis Island won’t stop this kitchen from cooking.

Optimized and Accessible Solar Energy 

To ensure peak efficiency, Oceanvolt used microinverters. Microinverters are small, panel-level devices in energy systems that convert direct current (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC) right at the back of each individual solar panel.  This allows energy collected by the panels installed on Thetis Island’s community centre to be maximised.  Crucially, this technology prevents panels that aren’t collecting as much solar energy from slowing down the entire solar system. Ultimately, this allowed Oceanvolt to optimise Forbes Hall Community Centre’s overall energy collection.

Oceanvolt also installed module-level monitoring on the Thetis Island community centre. This monitoring system tracks the centre’s energy output, voltage, and well-being of each solar panel. Since the microinverters that power these monitors are powered by the microinverters the equipment works together seamlessly. These features also provide peace of mind and safety, with fast shutdown capabilities if needed.

"The use of APsystems DS3-L microinverters was a key factor in the success of the Thetis Island 40 kW solar project,” said Marcus Downer of Oceanvolt. “Their high efficiency and dual-module design allowed us to maximize production while adapting to the site’s unique conditions.”

Thanks to these upgrades, Forbes Hall Community Centre volunteers and operators will be able to track their solar energy performance in real time. This access also simplifies maintenance and is built to last.

Whether you need a community-scale system or a residential setup, Oceanvolt has the experience and knowledge to get you started on your solar energy journey! Contact us today to talk with our team about your energy needs and independence!