P.E.I. pauses its solar energy rebate program

Although Efficiency P.E.I. has informed customers it is not taking new applications for solar energy rebates, P.E.I.’s environment minister says the program is “well and alive.”

In a phone interview with The Guardian on March 13, Environment Minister Gilles Arsenault explained the reasoning for the program’s suspension.

“The department put a pause in the program because, number one, we’re oversubscribed at the moment, and we also want to be fiscally responsible,” he said.

Arsenault said it’s a “perfect time” to re-evaluate the program to see if the intended targets are being met with the direction the province is heading with the program.

 There are 121 applicants in the pre-approval phase that are affected by the pause.

While the provincial government forecasted a $130 million deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year in January, Arsenault said the pause is not due to the findings of the fiscal report.

“The fact is that we need to be fiscally responsible per budget year, and we’re actually meeting those targets as we speak because the program was oversubscribed,” he said.

Arsenault added that the province will ensure that people who have been pre-approved will receive their solar rebates.

Clients who have already received a pre-approval letter will continue to have their rebates processed within three weeks of submitting paid receipts to Efficiency P.E.I.

In a phone interview with The Guardian on March 14, Liberal MLA Robert Henderson said pausing the program may put off Islanders who were looking for a way to convert to a sustainable energy source.

“When the government puts together these incentives to encourage people to invest in solar operations, they’d want to try to make sure that they’re fulfilling their obligations as a government to meet the needs of those applicants,” Henderson said.

Henderson said if the government needs more money to fulfill the applications, it could look at special warrants.

“In fact, they recently did a special warrant for the free heat pump program. It just seems like it’s a matter of the government’s priorities. Is it more politically popular to give free heat pumps versus funding a portion of a solar panel installation?” he said, referring to a Feb. 19 order for $5.371 million to be directed towards the sustainability office’s net zero and sustainable energy efficiency programs.

“But yet they didn’t do anything for the solar initiatives,” Henderson said.

Henderson argued the solar program could address the recent electricity capacity issue that has been warned about in P.E.I., with Maritime Electric asking customers to change when they use their power and Summerside Electric warning of brownouts.

“Instead of the priority being more heat pumps and electrification of P.E.I. homes, maybe they should at least balance that out a little better, which deals with the capacity issue,” he said.

Henderson also pointed out some applicants’ money is tied up while they await their applications to be approved.

“I’m sure some people borrowed money to do their installation, seeing that it would be a good investment to deal with their electric bill. And they’re not going to get back the money they anticipated (soon),” he said.

Arsenault said the evaluation of the solar energy rebate program should take about six months.

“In six months, we should be able to see where we’re at and be able to do the work of evaluating the program. So, we’re looking at a six- to eight-month pause here,” he said.

While the program’s pre-approval processing is on hold, Arsenault believes the province is still on track to meet P.E.I.’s 2040 net-zero emissions goal.

“The solar panels are not really the biggest factor here in terms of capacity and the grade as well,” he said.

Regarding Arsenault’s comment, Henderson believes the government can set the goals whenever they would be.

P.E.I. aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to less than 1.2 megatons by 2030.

The goal is to have P.E.I.’s greenhouse gas emissions at a level where carbon neutrality is achieved by 2040.

Carbon neutrality means not more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere than is offset by various means.

In terms of the program review, Arsenault said the department will research the eligibility criteria, environmental impacts, and administrative efficiency of the solar rebate program.

“All of the programming will be looked at in terms of who we’re servicing, the clientele. Should we be looking at lower-income families first? Should we be looking at the contractors?” he said.

• For homeowners, the province offers a maximum incentive of $10,000 when $1,000 per kilowatt DC panels are installed. Up to 40 per cent of the installed cost may be eligible for coverage.
• For residents to be eligible for the solar energy rebate program, the building must receive a residential rate on the electric bill.
• For businesses, a maximum incentive of $10,000 is available, when $350 per kilowatt DC panels are installed. Up to 40 per cent of the installed cost may be eligible for coverage.
• For businesses to be eligible for the solar energy rebate program, the building must receive the general service 1 rate or the small industrial rate on the electric bill.
• Farm buildings are able to receive a maximum incentive of $35,000 regarding the solar energy program.
• When the building is installed with a $1,250 kilowatt DC panel, up to 40 per cent of the installation costs can be covered.

To be eligible, the building must be a non-residential building, owned and operated by a bona fide farmer. The definition of a bona fide farmer can be found online.

Yutaro Sasaki is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. He can be reached at ysasaki@postmedia.com and followed on X @PEyutarosasaki.