Solar panel installers are preparing to face growing demand this season, in part due to high electricity bills in Alberta.
Variations in electricity prices are a major factorsays Zeno Renewables co-founder Kai Fahrion.
According to the entrepreneur, who has been in the renewable energy industry for seven years, customers started turning to solar when a cold snap caused a sudden spike in the price of electricity and natural gas, l ‘last year.
And then, last year, in October and November, several electricity suppliers sent a letter to their consumers to warn them that prices were going to increase. It was a trigger for a lot of people […] Many have turned to us to find out how to offset these costs“, he explains.
The company, which specializes in residential installations, plans to recruit 30 to 40 additional people by the end of the year to meet growing demand.
Alexander Tyndale, the founder of a competing company, Solar YYCis also preparing for the number of its yards to double this year.
According to him, carbon tax hike and the gradual shutdown of coal-fired power plants lead to higher electricity prices than in the past, without any pause on this subject.
For people, this is an incentive to take an interest in solar panels. Those who have already switched to this energy source applaud the price increase because it makes them more money“, he observes.
Electricity bills have risen so much that the consumer advocate, theAlberta Utilities Advocate, received hundreds of complaints this winter. The Alberta government will give them $150 rebate to offset these high costs.
An increasingly affordable installation
But other factors are driving Albertans to go solar, says Tyndale. The multiplication of the number of companies has contributed to a reduction in the cost of installation. Many financial incentives have been launched or are being developed.
© Zeno Renewables
Solar panel installations require an investment of at least $15,000, depending on the roof and the orientation of the house.
The federal government has set up a grant of up to $5,000 to help Canadians improve the energy efficiency of their homes. An interest-free loan was also mentioned in the budget.
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The City of Calgary has a property tax preferential loan program.
Once these programs are in place, it will democratize solar“says the founder of Solar YYCwhose customers were mostly from the upper middle class.
Obstacles still present
The installation of solar panels still represents a significant investment evaluated, on average, at an amount varying between $15,000 and $20,000.
Even though the panels produce all the electricity consumed, distribution and transmission costs still exist to cover the connection of the house to the electrical system.
© Zeno Renewables
Kai Fahrion is the co-founder of Zeno Renewables, which has been in business since 2015.
However, the Alberta system allows consumers to convert their energy surplus, often in the summer, into credits to reduce their bill in the winter. We usually tell people that they manage to reduce their bill by 75% to 80% in the year“says Mr. Fahrion.
The biggest obstacle to this growing interest in solar is the issue of supply, he adds. His company made its order forecasts every three months, which is no longer possible today.
The type of out-of-stock product varies regularly, which further complicates sourcing, according to Fahrion.
Alexander Tyndale believes, however, that the Alberta solar market has reached enough years of maturity to meet the growing demand.
According to the organization Solar Albertamore than 6700 solar micro-generation systems are installed in the province.