Transcript - Yves Poissant

Solar Photovoltaic Energy: The conversion of sunlight into electricity.

Yves Poissant: Photovoltaic technology specialist at CanmetENERGY's research centre in Varennes.

My motivation to undertake a career in solar energy arises from the convergence of 2 factors: a passion for science and a desire to make a positive impact on the environment. There is more to photovoltaics research than working on developing the next technology that may revolutionize this field. There is a need to know how to integrate this technology into buildings and how to manage its integration with the electricity network.

We also need to be able to answer questions about cost, performance, durability and reliability. These questions are at the core of my work here at CanmetENERGY.

This platform is used to monitor the electricity production of novel PV technologies. One of our goals is to verify how these technologies perform in our climate and see if one technology is better suited than the other. This research is also useful to the development of standards.

My role is to gather scientific information, but also to collaborate with national and international experts to develop and update security and performance standards. Once these international standards are published, I coordinate their adoption in Canada with CSA, UL and the Standard Council of Canada. Everyone has to bring their contribution in order to achieve our goal which is to put in place standards that guarantee the safe use and good performance of solar PV technologies.

Solar energy is becoming less expensive the more our research advances and technical challenges are evolving with the technology. It is clear that solar PV will play an important role in the energy infrastructure and green economy of tomorrow. My work consists of paving the way for its development and deployment by addressing the science and technology of solar energy.

My name is Yves Poissant and day after day, as a scientist, I bring my humble contribution to a great undertaking: building a sustainable future for my country.