Panels were available to members of the co-op, who could purchase only as many as would offset their power use.

Members own their panels, though the co-op takes care of maintenance. Computer software tracks the electricity fed into the grid and calculates the credits.

They can keep their panels so long as they live in the co-op service area, and panels can be bought and sold among members.

Richard Case wanted to get in on the action but the panels sold out in only two weeks.

Case said it would be impractical to install panels at his Ontario farm, which is tucked in a valley, but he’d like to be part of the move away from fossil fuels.

“This is the future,” he said.

Clean Energy founder Paul Spencer acknowledged that coal remains the cheapest fuel per kilowatt hour, but solar is becoming increasingly economical as equipment costs have fallen by half in just the last five years.

Today’s panels produce about 30 percent more electricity than they did then.