Call it a case of better late than never.
While governments around the world have been rebating solar panels and related systems for decades, the B.C. will offer rebates of up to $10,000 to households and up to $150,000 to organizations for the first time, starting next month.
B.C.'s Energy Minister Josie Osborne announced the rebates Thursday (June 27) in Richmond, with Chris O'Riley, B.C. Hydro, president and chief executive officer by her side. O'Riley hailed the historic nature of the rebates.
"For the first time ever, B.C. Hydro will provide rebates on solar panel installations and battery storage systems," he said. "These systems allow our customers to lower their energy bills and generate their own renewable electricity and store it to use later, when and how they want it."
Solar panel users will also be able to feed excess energy back into the system.
Solar power accounts for a negligible share of B.C. power production capacity and generation, a reflection of natural factors as well as B.C.'s historical reliance on hydroelectricity, which accounts for almost of all B.C.'s power generation.
Energyhub.org ranks B.C. among the second-lowest tier of provinces and territories when it comes to solar power potential. That potential decreases in the western and northern parts of B.C and increases in southern and eastern regions. High-potential areas include the Similkameen, the southern Okanagan, Boundary Country and the Kootenays.
The rebates will be part of a larger push to generate more power from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydrogen and biofuels.
"We need more clean energy to power our homes, businesses and industries, to power a growing economy and to power our future," Osborne said.
She pointed to a "system of heritage hydroelectric reservoirs" on which B.C. has been able to depend for years when asked why B.C. is only now getting into subsidizing solar power.
"We know we're going to need about 15 per cent more clean electricity in the coming years leading up to 2030, which is why integrating solar and (non-hydro) renewable (power) is really important. That's the subject of B.C. Hydro's call for power (this spring). But we also know that people want to do their part in fighting climate change. That's why offering a solar rebate program of this type is really exciting for us."
Rebates up to $10,000 per eligible household could make a difference. Business and Industry Canada, an organization providing advice on investment decisions, pegs the cost of a residential solar panel system between $12,000 and $30,000 and Canada Energy Regulator predicts B.C. households will save money as the cost of solar power system declines over time.
Osborne added that almost 10,000 households in B.C. are currently benefiting from solar panels.
"We hope to see a big uptick in this (figure) in the coming years."
Osborne rejected the suggestion that this push comes too late given the amount of the power needed for zero-emission-vehicles, and green hydrogen requiring emission-free electricity. B.C.'s new strategy released today commits B.C. to call for power every two years and builds on already existing programs designed to increase green energy, she said.
The coming rebate won't be the only solar power-specific program in B.C. The province exempts provincial sales tax on clean energy equipment including solar panels. A handful of municipalities on Vancouver Island also offer rebates and a handful of financial institutes also offer incentives.
Other jurisdictions, mainly in Europe, have outshone much of Canada in supporting solar power. In Germany, for example, solar accounts for about 10 per cent of total energy production. Reasons include generous installation incentives; competitive rates for energy fed back into the system; and a domestic industry producing solar panels and systems.
Mark Zacharias, executive Director of Clean Energy Canada, welcomed Thursday's announcement on solar panels and the broader strategy as a "critical first step" toward developing a comprehensive energy plan that keeps rates affordable while B.C. grows its economy and fights climate change.
But he also alluded to the catch-up that B.C. is playing.
"The strategy also brings B.C. in line with leading jurisdictions worldwide in terms of re-thinking our energy systems and also looking at what a future economy might look like," he said.
"We need to at least double and possibly triple our energy system and our electricity grid, both in B.C. and worldwide, to be able to move our economy off fossil fuels over the next two or three decades."