Halifax, NS, April 7, 2022 – Solar Nova Scotia commends the province for today’s announcement that will grow the solar industry across Nova Scotia.
The announcement included the following key legislative changes:
- Residential and small business net metered customers who install a system up to 27 kilowatts will not be required to enter into a contractual agreement with Nova Scotia Power. By eliminating this red tape will result in much faster installations.
- Nova Scotia Power will no longer be able to impose a fee structure or system access charge that discourages customers from developing their own solar net metered energy systems.
- The 100-kilowatt Net Metering cap will be lifted enabling commercial, multi-unit residential and industrial sectors to install larger systems to offset their electricity costs.
- A new community solar program will open up solar access for all Nova Scotians wanting to reduce their power bills.
“We are extremely pleased with this Bill from the provincial government and grateful to Premier Houston and Minister Rushton for taking on a leadership role to grow the solar industry across the province”, said Dave Brushett, Chair of Solar Nova Scotia.
Earlier this year the province stepped in to eliminate a system access charge proposed by Nova Scotia Power that would have increased annual fees on a 10-kilowatt residential system by over $900. This fee, if implemented, would have resulted in devastating the residential solar industry across the province. The new legislation will prohibit this from happening again.
“Reducing the red tape and administration associated with Net Metering applications will definitely speed up the installation process”, said John Jennex, owner of Solar Ascent. “Currently it is taking several weeks and even months to receive approvals from Nova Scotia Power. Today’s announcement will eliminate this roadblock”, Jennex further stated.
The commercial and industrial sectors have been wanting to pursue larger solar installs but have been stifled by the net metering cap which limits system size to 100 kilowatts. “We welcome today’s announcement to eliminate the cap said Peter Polley, CEO of Polycorp, a large multi-unit residential developer. “We have several large solar projects in the hopper that can now move forward as a result of the cap being lifted”, Polley further stated.
There are over 50 solar companies in Nova Scotia supporting hundreds of jobs in communities around the province. In 2021, the solar industry contributed approximately $30 million in private-sector investment to the Nova Scotia economy while helping to reduce the province’s greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 250,000 tonnes.
In 2019, the Canadian Solar Industries Association released a report projecting over 1100 solar jobs in Nova Scotia by 2030 with over 17,000 homes with installed solar. With today’s announcement, these projections are now attainable.