Solar companies still concerned about new rooftop solar program

Saskatchewan’s solar industry isn’t feeling much sun these days since the new rooftop solar program was announced.

Brenden Owens is a co-owner of Prairie Sun Solar in Regina. He said his company hasn’t sold a package since the new program was announced two weeks ago and calls into the company have gone from about 10 a week to one or two calls from people who are just curious.

Owens doesn’t like what has happened and said he wants to be able to install solar here.

“I grew up in Regina (and) I want to install solar systems in this province. If it’s not available to us — I mean, my family’s here, I have a daughter, I have daughter on the way, potentially a son — I want to stay in this province and do something sustainable for our province,” said Owens.

His company has already had to lay off two people, and Owens said if things continue as they are, then he’s going to have to lay off another two at the end of November. That’s half his workforce.

All his company does right now is solar and, eventually, Owens said if he wants to keep the company afloat then he’ll have to diversify into thermal and generators, which he said is the opposite of solar.

SaskPower and Environment Minister Dustin Duncan had said previously that he hoped companies would take this new program and sell it to their customers. On Monday, Owens said it doesn’t quite work for him.

“Going to someone and saying, ‘You know what, I’ve got a program for you, it’s a 16-year payback’ — I want to be able to give people something that I believe in, and at that payback I don’t believe in it,” Owens said. “It’s a really tough sell to be able to go and pretend it’s a good program.”

Owens reiterated what others in the industry have said — that they want the one-to-one credit for power customers put back into the grid. He said it’s sustainable and will allow the industry to grow while growing jobs in the province.

‘This is the program’

Duncan on Monday seemed unmoved by the concerns of the industry. He said he understands what the solar companies are saying, but he repeated the reasoning that SaskPower has to strike a balance so other customers aren’t saddled with the cost.

In talking about the potential success of the new program, Duncan pointed to numbers from people who applied for the old program and just didn’t make it. When offered the new program, Duncan said 36 per cent chose to go ahead with their solar project, 25 per cent decided not to, and the rest haven’t responded.

Duncan said he thinks the new program will see growth, just not as much as in the last year — the 16 megawatts in 10 months which he views as out of the ordinary.

“I wouldn’t want to base success or base future projections in terms of employment off of last year, because we can recreate a 16-megawatt program on an annual basis but it comes at a high financial cost for not just SaskPower but SaskPower’s customer base,” said Duncan.

“If we see the program grow by a couple megawatts each and every year (going forward) I think that that’ll be a good sign.”

Duncan said he knows the industry has been vocal about opposition to the program, but this is the program.

“I guess we’ll see in terms of what it means for employment. I understand and appreciate the position that the industry is in, but I would also say … it’s kind of challenge when for a couple of weeks you’re pretty negative on a program then you want to take it out to your customers and try to sell it,” said Duncan.

The minister doesn’t think this will be the destruction of the local solar industry. He thinks there are still people who are willing to go to rooftop solar.

The NDP are staunchly on the side of solar companies.

“This decision to move away from net metering, move away from a working model, has done what the industry predicted — it has killed the demand and is actively killing the solar industry in this province,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili.

Meili said his party has been hearing from companies across the province, and that orders for solar systems have dropped 90 per cent.

Meili touted the NDP’s plan, which would be to invest in and ramp up solar energy, allow people to do financing for solar panels through their SaskPower bills, and make it easier for people to get into the market and pay off their systems.