Home Solar in Prince Edward Island:

Prince Edward Island(PEI) is a small province in eastern Canada (both small in size and population). However, it is the most densely populated Canadian province, with the capital city of Charlottetown having the most people.

Prince Edward Island’s provincial government policies favor solar rebates and incentives. In addition to rebates that help with upfront solar system costs, higher energy prices make it a favorable place for businesses and residents to invest in solar energy.

Solar Incentives

Prince Edward Island provides multiple solar energy rebates and incentives that help to reduce the overall cost of solar systems.

Our EnergyPal Advisors can help you navigate all of the solar incentives available in Prince Edward Island and also apply them to the available solar panel offerings.

Just remember these items:

• Per Watt Rebates

  Rebates in Prince Edward Island are given according to the size of your installed system, which is measured in watts. Watts is the measure of the potential output of your system, usually described in kilowatts.

• Eligible Costs

  Rebate maximums are based on a percentage of your total eligible spend. The costs of materials and installation count towards eligible costs. Any taxes you may have paid do not count.

• Installation Qualifications

  Your installation must meet certain qualifications to be eligible for rebates. One of these qualifications is that an Efficiency Prince Edward Island qualified installer must install your system using CSA-approved electric equipment. Don’t worry—our partners are all qualified installers.

• Simple Rebate Applications

  We’ve screened our installation companies to make sure that they can and will handle all paperwork pertaining to rebates. We will make sure that you recieve the best rates possible.

Rebates and Tax Breaks

The Solar Electric Rebate Program, which is administered by efficiencyPEI, is the principal solar incentive in the province of Prince Edward Island. Residential property owners who belong to this incentive program can earn a cash rebate of $1.00 per watt for solar power installations. The maximum rebate amount is 40% of incurred costs up to $10,000.

If you had a 9.28 kW system, your savings would look like this:

9280 watts x $1.00/watt = $9,280

So if you spent $20,000 on that system, your cost would go down to $10,720 after the rebate.

Other Energy Incentives

Find out about other residential rebate programs in Prince Edward Island by exploring the efficiencyPEI website. You can also look into additional incentives for low-income residents through the Home Energy Low-Income Program.

The Solar Electric Rebate Program also helps businesses and farms pay for their solar systems. Farms and commercial property owners who belong to this incentive program can earn a rebate of $3.50 per watt for solar power installations. The maximum rebate amount is 40% of incurred costs up to $10,000.

Utility Policies

Utility policy factors determine what your utility provider pays you for the excess power you produce and what you save on your power bill by reducing electricity usage. Prince Edward Island gets a medium score for utility policies.

Interconnection Policy

One important policy for solar customers is called Net Metering. Net Metering is a billing mechanism that allows solar customers to push electricity to the grid for credit that can be used later, like at night when your solar panels aren’t generating power. This incentivizes people to go solar, provides clean energy for others to use and prevents waste.

Some provinces have poorer net metering policies than others, meaning that credits may not be able to be rolled over to the next month or year, or that you don’t earn full watt-for-watt credit for your excess energy.

Prince Edward Island’s Net Metering Program is good. Credits can be carried over into the next month, and you can connect a system up to 100 kW in size. Unfortunately, at the end of the year, you are not compensated for excess credits.

Solar Setup Fees

Prince Edward Island’s program does not charge for installation of a bi-directional meter, which is required for net metering. Other provinces do charge this fee.

Electricity Prices

Electricity prices in Prince Edward Island are on the high end. Usually you don’t want high prices, but with solar, the higher the prices, the more you save, and the more economical a solar system becomes.

The average total cost of electricity in Prince Edward Island is $0.168 per kWh, including fixed and variable costs, and assuming a monthly usage of 1,000 kWh. Under similar assumptions, the Canadian national average for all provinces is $0.135 per kWh.

Rate Design

Rate designs are comprised of monthly fees and either a flat or tiered rate you pay for electricity. Good rate designs, which save you money when you conserve energy, are tiered and have low fixed monthly fees. Poor rate designs have flat rates and high fixed monthly fees.

Prince Edward Island scores poorly when it comes to the quality of its electricity bill rate design. It has reverse tiered rates, meaning you pay less per watt if you use more energy, and high fixed fees (around $25 per month).

You still pay fixed monthly fees when you go solar because you are still tied to the grid. Being tied to the grid is a good thing, because otherwise you might not have power at night or if your system stopped working suddenly. Even if you go off of the grid and rely on a battery source, the high cost of the battery would not outweigh the monthly fee and the overall savings obtained from a net metering program.

PACE Programs

PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy and is a financing program for solar projects that is tied to the home instead of the homeowner. The PACE program is available in many communities in Canada, but not in Prince Edward Island.

For zero-down, you can finance your solar system, but the low-interest, long-term loan is not attached to you; it’s attached to your home. It is paid back as a Local Improvement Charge (LIC) on your property tax bill. To qualify, you must own a certain portion of your home.

Other Energy Financing

Solar systems can be financed by bank loans, solar installer financing, new home mortgages, energy loans and home equity loans or lines of credit. Cash works too. Prince Edward Island has a specialEnergy Efficiency Loan Program to assist with initial costs of a solar system or solar hot water heater. This program offers repayable, low-interest loans of up to $10,000 over a period of up to seven years. Check the website for additional rebates, stipulations and terms.

Talk to your EnergyPal Advisor about financing solar options in Prince Edward Island. We regularly source the best deals and terms for customers.