Alberta’s residential solar industry
has chugged along for decades without government support.
That dry spell finally drew to a close on Monday, when the
provincial NDP government announced a two-year, $36 million rebate program to
help bring down the costs for residents, business and nonprofits who want to
install solar projects.
By 2020, the number of solar installations on rooftops is
expected to increase from 1,800 to 10,000 systems, which will create about 900
jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a half million tons (or the same as
taking 100,000 cars off the road). The program is funded through the province's
carbon tax revenue.
“It’s the first time individuals and businesses across the
province will have support to install solar and have the independence of being
able to generate their own electricity,” said Sara Hastings-Simon, the director
of the Pembina Institute's clean economy program.
Rebate Program Will Pay 75 Cents Per Installed Watt, Up to
30 Percent of Cost
The 21-minute announcement was fairly short on details, with
many of the specifics being worked out by the new Energy Efficiency Alberta
agency. But the news is already being heralded as a “milestone” and “very
significant” by solar advocates.
“Consumers are already excited about solar,” said David
Kelly, CEO of SkyFire Energy, who was at Monday’s announcement. “There’s a lot
of pent-up demand: people have been waiting for a program. And the industry is
ready to deliver.”
In February 2016, the provincial
government announced a $5.5 million rebate plan for municipalities and
farms. Demand quickly outstripped available incentive programs for such
sectors; the program is expected to fund 160 projects in total.
The Solar Energy Society of Alberta estimates that a solar
PV system can be installed to accommodate an average household’s electricity
demand — estimated at 7,200 kWh per year — for about $18,000. The initial cost
can be a deterrent for residential and business owners.
That’s where the new rebate program will come in,
significantly reducing the payback period (cutting the current 15- to 20-year
payback timeframe by about 30 percent).
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Shannon Phillips,
who announced the news on Monday, noted in the press conference that the rebate
program will allow for rebates of 75 cents per installed watt, up to 30 percent
of total solar installation costs for residential and 25 percent of solar
installation costs for businesses and nonprofits.
Kelly noted that such figures aren’t as generous as some
other jurisdictions. But that’s a good thing, he suggested, as you don’t want
to “create a gold rush mentality for solar.”
Alberta Aims to Generate 30 Percent of Electricity Via
Renewables by 2030
It might sound a bit counterintuitive. But it’s something
that Rob Harlan, executive director of the Solar Energy Society of Alberta,
explains is necessary to prevent problems around quality and safety due to the
industry expanding too quickly.
“Traditional electrical training doesn’t include a lot about
solar technology yet,” he said.
“Electricians need to have a little bit of
additional training to do these systems well. If it becomes too lucrative too
soon, you get a lot of sales and marketing people dominating
the industry.”
The rebate program is just a small part of the province’s
push to green its energy system, with the overall target of a complete
phase-out of coal-fired power and 30 percent renewable generation by 2030.
Larger solar projects have also become increasingly popular;
the “connection queue” for the Alberta Electricity System Operator (AESO) hit
681 MW in September, and 1,453 MW in December.
That doesn’t guarantee that proponents will follow through
with the project, but it certainly represents a solid measure of interest.
Hastings-Simon says the new rebate program will also benefit
people who don’t choose to install solar, as it will reduce costly electricity
generation during peak times and the need to build new
transmission infrastructure.
More Can Be Done to Encourage Microgeneration,
Advocates Say
In late December, the province amended the legislation on
microgeneration, or small-scale generation for personal consumption, with
excess power sold back to the grid.
The tweaks included increasing the size limit (from one MW
to five MW) and allowing for solar systems to connect to adjacent sites (as
opposed to having to be literally on the roof of the consumer). But some
advocates suggest the microgeneration regulation be further amended to allow
for the potential growth of residential solar.
“Right now, the microgeneration law limits system size to
your past year’s consumption,” Harlan said.
“We’d like to see that lifted. It’s
important to limit system size by things like fuses, conductors and
transformers: basic safety and technological issues. But why not allow somebody
who has a commercial building with a large roof to sell it with solar modules
and help clean Alberta’s grid?”
Pembina’s Hastings-Simon agrees, noting that it would be
hugely helpful to make it possible to size systems larger than the load they’re
immediately connected to.
That would mean that if someone wanted to build a solar
project with their neighbors, they could build it in a central nearby location
even if it’s not directly connected to each of their houses (but is instead
connected via the distribution grid). In addition, “virtual net metering” would
allow someone to have “virtual ownership of a solar panel” with credit applied
to your electricity bill.
“Those are some of the things that help community solar take
off,” she said.
Solar Rebates Available by Mid-April
The next step for the rebate program is a Request for
Proposal to identify a third-party contractor to administer the program.
Minister Phillips emphasized in the press conference that
projects will have to meet program requirements, with the details established
by the agency this spring; she said it’s on the consumer to figure out if their
building is a good fit for solar, solicit multiple bids from companies and do
due diligence “to protect themselves as consumers.”
She added that people will be able to register for the
program by mid-April, and that rebates will be retroactive to that time.
“It was a little short on details but it sounds, from what
they spoke about and what was in the press release, that it’s going to be
fairly comprehensive,” Kelly concluded.
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