Alberta Unveils $36M Solar Rebate Plan for Homes and Businesses

February 28, 2017

Under a $36-million Alberta government rebate program, homeowners, businesses and non-profit organizations will receive rebates for rooftop solar panels that meet program requirements as early as this summer.

“There’s a lot of buzz in Alberta around small-scale solar,” says Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office. “This program will make solar power affordable for more Albertans, leading to new panels on 10,000 Alberta rooftops by 2020. Along the way, we will create jobs and local expertise in an emerging industry.” (Shown in photo: Minister Phillips helping to install solar panels at Gridworks Solar Energy Training Centre.)

Solar uptake has doubled in Alberta since 2015, bolstered by initiatives like the Alberta Municipal Solar Program and the On-Farm Solar PV Program. Over the next five years, the new Residential and Commercial Solar Program will build on these existing programs. By 2019, the new program is expected to

• help create 900 jobs in Alberta’s solar sector

• cut solar installation costs by up to 30% for residences, and up to 25% for businesses and non-profits

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province by about a half million tonnes, the equivalent of taking 100,000 passenger vehicles off the road

To ensure Albertans receive timely access, the government is posting a request for proposal to identify a third party to deliver the new program. Details will be defined in coming months, including qualifying systems, installation and eligibility requirements.

“The Prairies have the best solar resources in Canada, and there are a lot of potential investment opportunities,” says David Dodge, Chair, Energy Efficiency Alberta. “This is the first of several programs that will help create jobs and diversify Alberta’s energy economy into clean sources of energy.”

The Residential and Commercial Solar Program is a reinvestment of the province’s carbon levy.