Do you know what Alberta offers when it comes to solar panel incentives?
Alberta is one of the sunniest provinces in Canada, and has great potential to become a terrific producer of solar power. Over the last two years, the province has increased its support for solar energy. It now has both Net Metering regulations as well as direct financial rebates.
As power generation is privatized in Alberta, each company has their own program. See below for more details on the most popular programs:
Alberta is also offering direct financial rebates through their Residential and Commercial Solar Program. This program provides the following incentive levels (subject to eligibility):
- $0.75/W rebate for residential systems. The maximum grant amount is the lesser of 30% of eligible system cost or $10,000.
- $0.75/W rebate for commercial systems. The maximum grant amount is the lesser of 25% of the eligible system cost or $500,000.
- $0.75/W rebate for non-profit systems. The maximum grant amount is the lesser of 25% of the eligible system cost or $500,000.
This might change! http://www.canadianenergylawblog.com/2016/05/10/the-aesos-renewable-electricity-incentive-program-marches-forward/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original
This is a very exciting development! It will be interesting to see the first competition for new REP projects in Q4 this year.
What formula do you use to calculate the ROI on installing a PV Solar system. The cost of electricity during June was 2.8 cents on the Floating Rate. How many months will it take to pay for the cost of a solar system?
Hi Nick,
We would suggest using the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) calculation: https://solarconsultant.ca/glossary/levelized-cost-of-electricity-lcoe/
The simple formula is LCOE = (lifetime system cost )/(lifetime energy produced).
The more detailed formula is LOCE = w + f + c *T
– “w” denotes the time averaged variable operating cost in $/kWh (eg. labor, supplies)
– “f” denotes the time averaged fixed operating cost in $/kWh (eg. insurance, maintenance)
– “c” denotes the unit cost of capacity in $/kWh (essentially the capital cost divided by electrical production capacity)
– “T” denotes the tax factor in % (this one’s pretty complex to calculate so we would recommend leaving it as “1”