“It’s About The Future Of Energy”: How Solar Can Power New Economic Growth In Canada

Takeaway: Canada is a diverse country with significant regional differences in electrical grids, energy pricing, and attitudes to renewable energy. However, sentiment is strengthening in favor of solar for both economic and energy production reasons. Three Contractors (SkyFire Energy, Sunly, and Riverside Energy) discuss Canada’s solar evolution and their views on the future of the industry.

Canada is one of the world’s largest producers of oil and gas. But just like Texas, there’s a unique opportunity for solar energy.

In particular, solar can help build Canada’s economic future, delivering more cost savings for homeowners to defray rising energy prices, and providing new business and employment opportunities.

Speaking with Scanifly, three Contractors across the country — Stacy Haakonson at Alberta-based SkyFire Energy, Jason Hibbard at Prince Edward Island (PEI) based Sunly, and Sean Palfenier at British Columbia-based Riverside Energy — explained more about how the solar industry differs across provinces, the economic opportunity of solar, and the debate about Canada’s place in the future of the industry.

West Coast, Best Coast

Founded in 2001, SkyFire Energy is one of the oldest contractors in Canadian solar; the company has continually evangelized and educated Albertans as it grew, and now has over 100 employees across its Calgary HQ and other offices in Edmonton and Kelowna, BC. Renewable energy has been a tougher sell in Alberta than some other areas, given the provincial economy’s focus on oil and gas, but Stacy said she’s feeling good about the evolving discourse.

“Our government tends to lean to oil and gas a little bit more,” said Stacy. “And what that has actually done — in a positive way — is started a new conversation with the people that live here. And that conversation is exciting to be a part of.”

Sean explained a similar sentiment in British Columbia, where Riverside Energy has been operating in Kamloops since 1995. Until recently, he said solar energy was primarily understood as a way to live off-grid or to fuel your camper van while on vacation. But over the past five years, and in particular 2023 as the BC government put out a call for clean energy, things have been changing rapidly. However, like the Pacific Northwest United States, Sean said a lot of his efforts have been spent educating consumers that cloudy days don’t prohibit solar production.

The discourse around solar also differs because of how energy is produced and distributed in each province. For example, British Columbia has a functionally monopolized electrical grid with tiered billing, where each home is allotted a certain amount of energy at a fixed price, with a higher price for going beyond that. As a result, Sean’s focus isn’t on the biggest array possible. He instead focuses on what a homeowner actually needs based on their usage and billing.

“Once you go over that initial allotment [of electricity], they charge you into step two, which is more expensive than step one,” said Sean. “When we look at solar, the best investment standpoint or the best use case is to offset your step two.”

In Alberta, there is some regional competition from a large province-wide utility and a few smaller, regional players. There are also two tiers of electricity rates in the province, which enables further competition. This means that education and accurate data are paramount for navigating Alberta’s complex energy ecosystem, two things that Stacy said the SkyFire team prioritizes in their sales conversations and community outreach.

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Storm Chips & Solar

On the east coast, things are a bit different. First, there is more coastal erosion and more intense storms on the Atlantic than those on the Pacific. There’s also weaker grid resilience, meaning more likelihood of power outages. In fact, inclement weather and power outages are so common that a local phenomenon emerged where residents buy bags of chips to eat while watching the storm or waiting for power to come back on: storm chips.

Politics also operates differently on the East Coast, where economic challenges have given way to multiple government programs to support residents. Jason said the region is also more pro-green energy than other areas of Canada. The provincial Conservative Party, for example, even adopted many policies to encourage renewables in the region, including rebate programs that offer thousands of dollars to defray installation costs. This trend has grown into neighboring New Brunswick as well, where Sunly also operates.

Electricity billing in PEI also changes the mindset toward solar. Where BC charges a lower price per watt for the first tranche of electricity and a higher price over that amount, PEI’s prices start higher and go lower.

Because of this structure, solar installation is often less about offsetting 100% of usage and more about finding a balance between installation costs and offsetting tranche one — this is where new technology becomes valuable. With drones, Jason can survey a property quickly and have a data-driven conversation with homeowners about array size compared to electricity usage and tranched pricing. And the efficiencies Jason gets with drones help keep the price of solar affordable, a major concern for Eastern Canadians, who earn less on average than their Western peers.

The Future Of Solar In Canada

Looking through a complex web of incentives and provincial discourse, a common trend occurs: all Contractors see loan, grant, or rebate programs as a double-edged sword.

“My goal for solar is that it’s self-sustaining so that we don’t need [incentive] programs,” said Jason. “Your end goal is that your power is paid for and your power pays for the system installation. And then you don’t have to worry about a grant coming along.”

Stacy expressed a similar sentiment, saying “​we don’t want to rely on incentives — solar just makes sense.”

However, there’s another question about the future of solar in Canada: how can the country lead in this industry?

As a country with significant landmass and urban sprawl, rooftop and ground-mount solar is a massive opportunity. But much of the policy and programming in Canada — and even much of the national discourse around solar — is often a delayed, wait-and-see repeat of US policy.

“We look at the US and solar is just a part of the everyday — we’re really behind when it comes to that,” said Stacy.

This doesn’t mean quality is lower, though; all three Contractors prioritize quality and customer service. Jason is also ok with Canada not being first in the world with new solar incentives, provided the country remains a “fast follower” of good ideas globally. Stacy and Sean, on the other hand, feel a bit differently.

“I would like to see us taking more of a lead on solar — setting an example and not just being labeled as a follower that learns and then adapts,” said Sean.

Stacy added that SkyFire is a certified BCorp, meaning they operate with overall sustainability and community good in mind, rather than solely profit. This is one additional reason why she wants to see Canada take the lead — solar is a cleaner energy source that can provide good jobs, more resilient grids, and deliver significant cost savings to private homeowners, religious groups, community associations, and nonprofits. Put simply: it’s a great way to build up a nation.

“We don’t have to draw lines in the sand — it’s about the future of energy,” Stacy continued. “It’s oil and gas and wind and solar. It’s not just about installing solar; it’s about the impact to our communities and for future generations.”

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