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By Erica Butler
EOS Eco-Energy is coordinating another Solar Panel Bulk Purchase Program for homeowners in the Tantramar region.
The bulk purchase will save would-be solar producers about 10% of the cost of the panels themselves, which represents roughly a quarter of the installed costs of solar power.
It’s not a lot of savings, but as EOS Energy Projects Coordinator Lauren Clark says, there’s not much else available in the way of incentives for solar power in New Brunswick.
“Folks that take part in the bulk purchase will pay only 72 cents a watt for the panels, which is about 10% off. Which is great, because there’s not a whole lot of rebates right now provincially for panels, so we’re trying to help out a little bit.”
This Thursday, EOS is hosting a webinar on the program with Clark and the installer, Fundy Solar. The session starts at 6:30pm Thursday and registration is available from the EOS website.
EOS also organized bulk purchases previously in 2015 and 2019. Roughly eleven homeowners have taken part and started producing power.
Although the investment in solar panels will get paid off over time with savings on electrical bills, in New Brunswick the incentive for people to invest in solar production is poor.
New Brunswickers can’t yet make money by producing power on their rooftops, says Clark.
“The way that it works with New Brunswick Power is that you’ll get a net metering system. So that allows you to put the power that you’re generating from the panels onto the grid. And it also allows you to draw electricity from the grid during times of the day when you’re not generating electricity. So at night, for instance, or, you know, if it’s a super cloudy day, and you’re not producing that much electricity you can draw from the grid. And so, at the end of the year, it’ll sort of be the balance.”
While NB Power carries over any credit for a residential solar producer from month to month, once a year the account is returned to zero. The policy incentivizes people to produce just the power they use, but not more.
“I mean the panels will pay for themselves after a certain number of years, because your electricity bill would be less or zero. But yeah, there’s not a whole lot of money-making opportunity from what I understand in New Brunswick.”
Other jurisdictions incentivize residential and community solar installations by offering cash incentives, or premium rates for any renewables produced and fed to the grid.
Over in Amherst, the town is in the process of outfitting the stadium with a solar array that will produce an estimated 123,000 kilowatt hours each year.
It’s an affordable project for the town because of a power purchasing agreement with Nova Scotia Power, guaranteeing the town a premium price for its power for 20 years.
Mayor David Kogon says the project will not only pay for itself, but generate savings for the town.
EOS’s current bulk purchase program is focussed on residential customers, and the savings offered are modest.
In order to really encourage people to start using their roofs to produce energy, Clark says more can be done by provincial governments and utilities.
“I think that more incentives would be great, whether it be from the province or from the utility to sort of help it become more accessible for folks because it is a, you know, a large investment that people make, and you have to have money set aside. There’s different programs that exist in other provinces, like PACE programs where you have the solar panels put on and then you pay for them over a few years. The loan for the panels is attached to the property and not the homeowner itself, so you are sort of making an investment in the property. So programs like that are super helpful. I think things like that would really help.”
To find out more, Clark says people can attend the online information session this Thursday at 6:30pm.
“The solar installer will be there. I’ll be there. And we’ll be sort of doing an overview of the program, solar energy. And if folks have any questions, feel free to contact me or attend the webinar. We’d be happy to answer questions any folks might have.”
