Solar Power Canada

With the exception of solar power Canada has a wide range of rebates and incentives available to encourage people to become more energy efficient with their homes. But what is the story with photovoltaic solar energy?

Canada has very little manufacturing capacity for solar cells even though the majority of the population lives in the southern part of the nation, near the United States border. At this latitude, solar panels are still highly efficient.

The Green Energy Act

Despite the lack of a nation-wide approach to encouraging growth in the solar power sector, the Ontario Government introduced the Green Energy Act in February 2009. This yet-to-be-passed legislation promises to stimulate the renewable energy sector in Ontario and make solar home installations more affordable for residents.

The Act provides for the development of a “feed-in tariff program” that allows the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to buy energy from many sources, and presumably this is to include excess household production as is the case in many other developed nations. At present the OPA needs Ministerial permission to purchase energy.

While there is no specific mention of household solar rebates at this point, the Act has yet to be accepted into law and further changes to it are sure to occur.

Current Energy Efficiency Rebates

For a comprehensive list of the rebates and incentives for energy use reduction currently available by province or territory, see this site.

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