BC announces its first solar panel rebate program

This can be summed up in the saying that better late than never.

While governments around the world have been providing rebates on solar panels and related systems for decades, from next month, for the first time, the European Commission will offer rebates of up to $10,000 to households and up to $150,000 to organizations.

BC Energy Minister Josie Osborne announced the rebates on Thursday (June 27) in Richmond with Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro, by her side. O’Riley praised the historic nature of the rebates.

“For the first time, BC Hydro will provide rebates for solar panel installations and battery energy storage systems,” he said. “These systems allow our customers to reduce their energy bills and generate their own renewable energy and store it for later use, when and how they want.”

Solar panel users will also be able to feed excess energy back into the system.

Solar energy makes up a negligible share of BC’s energy production and generation capacity, reflecting natural factors as well as BC’s historical reliance on hydropower, which accounts for almost all of BC’s energy production.

Energyhub.org ranks BC among the second-lowest provinces and territories when it comes to solar energy potential. This potential decreases in western and northern BC and increases in southern and eastern regions. Areas with high potential include Similkameen, the South Okanagan, Boundary Country and the Kootenays.

The rebates will be part of a broader effort to produce more energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydrogen and biofuels.

“We need more clean energy to power our homes, businesses and industries to fuel our growing economy and our future,” Osborne said.

When asked why British Columbia was only now starting to subsidize solar energy, she pointed to the “historic hydroelectric reservoir system” that British Columbia has relied on for years.

“We know that we’re going to need about 15 per cent more clean electricity in the coming years leading up to 2030, so integrating solar and (non-hydro) renewable (energy) is really important. That’s what BC Hydro is calling for power (this spring). But we also know that people want to do their part to combat climate change. So offering this type of solar rebate program is really exciting for us.”

Rebates of up to $10,000 per qualifying household can make a difference. Business and Industry Canada, an organization that provides advice on investment decisions, ranks the cost of a home solar panel system between $12,000 and $30,000, and the Canadian Energy Regulator predicts that North American households will save money as solar energy system costs decline over time.

Osborne added that nearly 10,000 households in British Columbia currently use solar panels.

“We hope to see a big increase in this (number) in the coming years.”

Osborne rejected the suggestion that the push comes too late, given the amount of energy needed to produce zero-emission vehicles and green hydrogen requiring zero-emission electricity. The new BC strategy, released today, commits BC to a biennial power call and builds on existing programs to boost green energy levels, she added.

The upcoming rebate won’t be the only solar program in British Columbia. The province exempts provincial sales tax on clean energy equipment, including solar panels. Several municipalities on Vancouver Island also offer rebates, and several financial institutions also offer incentives.

Other jurisdictions, mostly in Europe, have outpaced most of Canada in supporting solar power. In Germany, for example, solar power accounts for about 10 percent of total energy production. Reasons include generous incentives for installation; competitive rates for energy fed back into the system; and a domestic industry producing solar panels and systems.

Mark Zacharias, executive director of Clean Energy Canada, hailed Thursday’s announcement on solar panels and the broader strategy as a “key first step” toward developing a comprehensive energy plan that will keep rates affordable while British Columbia grows its economy and combats climate change.

But he also alluded to BC catching up.

“This strategy also brings BC closer to leading jurisdictions around the world in terms of rethinking our energy systems, as well as looking at what the future economy could look like,” he said.

“We need to at least double, maybe triple, our energy system and electricity grid, both in British Columbia and globally, to transition away from fossil fuels over the next two to three decades.”