UPDATE Menova to demo solar power system for Wal Mart

							UPDATE: Menova to demo solar power system for Wal-Mart
By Krystle Chow, Ottawa Business Journal Staff Fri, May 23, 2008 11:00 AM EST Menova Energy is getting up to $5.8 million from the provincial government and Wal-Mart Canada to demonstrate its solar energy system. The Ottawa-based company said the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation would be granting Menova a $2.8-million forgivable loan through the ministry's Innovation Demonstration Fund, which Menova will only need to repay if it does not produce the desired results. As well, retailing giant Wal-Mart will provide up to $3 million to support the testing and installation of Menova's Power-Spar solar concentrator technology on the roof of a yet-to-be-constructed, 220,000-squarefoot Wal-Mart Supercentre. "This is an example of Ontario's growing world leadership in solar energy," said Menova president David Gerwing in a statement. "The Menova technology was developed in Ontario and will remain in Ontario thanks to the forward-looking policies and commitment from this provincial government." The demonstration is the first step in determining whether Menova's system, which concentrates solar energy by approximately 1,000 times so that fewer solar cells are needed for the same amount of power, will be used by Wal-Mart Canada to meet its long-term sustainability goal to be supplied by 100-per-cent renewable energy. In an interview with the OBJ, Mr. Gerwing said the deal is the culmination of two years of working with WalMart, and estimated that if Menova is successful in delivering the goods, it could result in a deal worth more than $41 billion. "Wal-Mart has 6,900 stores worldwide, and each of our systems is around $6 million, depending on the size of the roof, so you can do the math on that," said Mr. Gerwing. He said the demonstration system, which will take up roughly 30 per cent of the store's rooftop, will have a payback of about 4.87 years, and will provide 72 per cent of the store's heating, 87 per cent of its cooling and 11 per cent of its electricity. However, if it were to be built across the entire roof, it could provide 100 per cent of the store's heating, 87 per cent of its cooling and up to 43 per cent of its electricity, Mr. Gerwing said. The company also quoted its partner, installation company Woodbine Tool & Die, which lauded the economic benefits of the deal for the province. "Outfitting just one-quarter of the Wal-Mart stores in Canada would result in $250 million in new manufacturing activity over the next four years in the province," stated Tibor Urbanek, president of Woodbine Tool & Die, which is helping to manufacture the systems for Menova. Menova's Mr. Gerwing said the company is currently in talks with four or five different city councils to get approval for its system, with keen interest for Power-Spar already being shown across the globe. He noted that the company will be meeting up this coming week with a leading Spanish automotive group to talk about a partnership. "It's great as an entrepreneur to see this synergy of your own provincial government believing in you, along with the world's largest retailer, and a very professional high-volume manufacturing company. I feel very lucky to be in the middle of the storm," said Mr. Gerwing.