Will solar be part of ‘Powering the Future’?

Erwin Heuck wrestles with implications of this question.

As we consider how Saskatchewan is going to provide for its future energy needs, it’s important to first look back.

Saskpower has been providing safe, reliable power to the people and businesses of our province for the last 90 years, and we should all be extremely thankful for that. Providing affordable power to a relatively small population spread out over a vast land mass has allowed our province to prosper.

A few years ago, Saskpower changed its tagline to “Powering the Future,” which implies that it’s also important to look ahead.

How will the future be powered? At a time when every utility in the world is wrestling with the implications of this very question, Saskpower must balance Saskatchewan’s unique mix of demands, opportunities and costs. There are many more factors to consider than there were 90 years ago.

For one thing, the people and communities of Saskatchewan now have energy options. For instance, wind and solar provide opportunities to create sustainable energy options that can be implemented at utility scale — and also at community scale. In the case of solar, Saskpower has been a strong partner in allowing the private sector to grow an industry with a roughly 20-per-cent cash-back incentive and a standard 1:1 net metering program so you can get a credit for excess production. On Sept. 19, that program hit its cap, with very little warning and no program to replace it. As Saskpower considers a new program, it’s important to consider that Saskatchewan has the best solar resource in all of Canada.

Another fact is Saskatchewan people want the choice to produce their own green power with solar, clear from the unprecedented demand and more than 25,000 signatures in support of a viable solar industry in Saskatchewan on change.org.

Net metering, or 1:1 credit for excess production, is standard across the majority of forward-looking jurisdictions in Canada and the U.S. In places that have moved away from net metering, and imposed discounts to excess power (e.g. wholesale rates), the solar industry has collapsed. That path would be a disaster in lost jobs and opportunities for green energy across Saskatchewan.

Another important fact is that net metering is NOT a subsidy as some have stated. In fact, where Value of Solar (VOS) studies have been completed, they have shown residential solar to be a net benefit to non-solar customers.

That’s because regular people and businesses invest in the green asset in partnership with the private sector.

The utility, in this case Saskpower, has no capital, maintenance or transmission costs for that power while also still receiving a monthly connection fee from solar customers.

So, the idea that net metering will increase rates for other ratepayers is simply not true.

Provincial and state governments across Canada and the U.S. are taking a stand and providing renewable utility and community scale “carve-outs” as law, to ensure successive governments hold the course on renewable utility and community-scale energy programs.

So, what should we do? What is the “made in Saskatchewan solution” for powering the future? The Distributed Energy Association of Saskatchewan (DEASASK), which represents all the major solar businesses in Saskatchewan, has proposed that we begin with dialogue and engagement between our industry and Saskpower.

We believe residential solar and net metering are part of a solution for powering the future, not part of the problem.

Before assuming that solar creates a net cost for the province, we propose the development of a Value of Solar (VOS) that applies to Saskatchewan.

The Distributed Energy Association of Saskatchewan also proposes that our energy utilities create spaces for community-scale industries and technologies — often referred to as Distributed Energy Resources (DERS) — to participate in the mix of our province’s energy options going forward.

We want to work collaboratively with industry, the utilities and communities to create a sustainable energy future that includes renewable energy.

Let’s work together, let’s engage and discuss. Let’s move beyond social media and public platforms and put our effort into solutions, collaboration and serving our communities.

Let’s power the future together with distributed energy.

Erwin Heuck is managing director of Distributed Energy Association of Saskatchewan.