The biggest solar conference ever held in Canada is underway today and Tuesday at the Toronto Convention Center in Ontario.

“It’s huge,” convention spokeswoman Sylvie Powell said Monday. “People are just flowing in.”

She said the convention started five years ago with just 100 attendees. There were only 300 people in attendance three years ago, she said.

This year, there are over 430 exhibitors and more than 3,600 people in attendance, Powell said.

“The growth has just been exponential,” she said.

This is the first year the event is being held at the Toronto Convention Center. The Canadian Solar Industries Association, CanSIA, which hosts the event, moved the conference this year because it had to cut off registrations the last two years, Powell said.
“Now our space is pretty much unlimited,” she said.

Well-known industry leaders will deliver keynote speeches and lead panel discussions about the future of solar throughout the conference.

Exhibitors from around the world are demonstrating their cutting edge technologies, Powell said. And companies have an opportunity to showcase some of their most progressive work.

Break-out discussions during the conference will cover the role of solar in local utilities and communities; how solar thermal power will be impacted by fading government incentive programs; how solar can be used to advance Canadian agriculture; the benefits and challenges of partnering with the United States as a closely-related neighbor; whether or not the industry needs to establish a worker certification system; the future of solar manufacturing; solar financing options; and how to make solar more viable outside of Ontario in Canada.

Ontario has seen significant growth in the solar industry since it implemented rebates and feed-in-tariffs, according to a CanSIA report. The organization just released a report, SolarVision 2025, that urges the country to adopt federal incentives for solar installations in order to increase the technology’s popularity nationally.

CanSIA was founded in 1978 to promote the interests of the solar thermal industry, according to the organization’s web site. It joined with the Canadian Photovoltaic Solar Industries Association, founded in 1989, in 1992.

CanSIA promotes solar throughout Canada and supports member companies. Membership has been on the rise as the industry grows in popularity.

Powell has participated in the conference for the last five years and has seen it expand dramatically.

“Ever year, I site here and think, ‘Oh my goodness,’” she said. “It just keeps growing.”

Pictured: Ontario Convention Center, where, apparently, palm trees grow.