Energy program.
Engineered for the load.

Peak demand is the highest rate of electricity consumption recorded in a 15-minute interval within a billing month, measured in kilowatts (kW). Ontario electricity rates include a demand charge component calculated against this figure — meaning a single production spike can set the demand charge for the entire month. For manufacturing facilities running continuous production, demand charges can represent 30–50% of the total electricity bill. Identifying and reducing peak demand — through load scheduling, HVAC optimisation, or battery storage — is often the highest-return energy investment available before solar is considered.

Solar generation is highest during daytime hours and zero at night. For facilities running continuous 24/7 production schedules, solar typically offsets daytime consumption and reduces the amount of electricity purchased from the grid during peak rate periods. Battery storage can extend the value of solar into evening and overnight periods by capturing excess daytime generation and discharging it when solar output is unavailable. The specific economics depend on the facility's load profile, shift patterns, and rate structure — which is why the assessment starts with utility interval data, not a roof measurement.

For manufacturing facilities where full or near-full electricity offset is the goal, looking at efficiency and generation together tends to produce better outcomes. If a facility has addressable demand charges, poorly scheduled HVAC, or aging lighting across large production areas, reducing that load first means a solar system can be sized for the optimized facility rather than the current one. The Ce De Candy program delivered $7.2M in lifetime savings using exactly this sequence — efficiency and generation planned across 11 projects over several years.

On completed GI manufacturing projects, payback has ranged from approximately 4–7 years depending on system size, facility consumption, and incentive access. Manufacturing facilities with high daytime electricity loads and significant peak demand charges tend to achieve payback toward the lower end of that range — because the project addresses both energy volume and demand charges simultaneously. The Ce De Candy program achieved a blended payback of 4.2 years across all 11 projects. A project-specific financial model is required to determine where your facility lands — the variables are too facility-specific for a generic estimate to be meaningful.

Ontario's Building Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS) sets emissions intensity limits for large commercial and industrial buildings. Manufacturing facilities above the size threshold will be required to demonstrate emissions reductions on a defined compliance schedule. On-site solar generation directly reduces a facility's grid electricity consumption and the associated GHG emissions — both inputs to BEPS calculations. An energy program that combines demand reduction and solar generation is also the program that produces the documented emissions data required for BEPS reporting. The earlier a facility begins, the more flexibility it has in how the compliance target is met.