NDP blasts new solar program after rates cut

REGINA Saskatchewan’s rooftop solar industry has four days of experience since the dawn of a new net metering program, and some say their dark forecasts are coming true.

Brenden Owens, co-owner of Prairie Sun Solar, watched question period on Monday as the NDP criticized the reformed program, which still allows customers to feed self-generated electricity into the grid but is substantially less generous than what came before.

Owens was among those who predicted that a significant reduction in credits paid to consumers would “eliminate” the residential industry. On Monday, he confirmed that work has remained scarce since Saskpower restarted applications for net metering on Nov. 1.

“Since we have this new program, we’ve received, I would say, one to two calls a week,” he said. “Previously, we were receiving about 10.”

He said 10 people had already booked work just before the previous program was suspended. They have all dropped out in the days since, he said. Owens told reporters he hasn’t made a single sale under the new program.

Saskpower changed the rate at which it credits customers for excess power they produce and feed back into the grid.

Where previously it valued the credit at 14 cents per kilowatt-hour, it now stands at 7.5 cents. That extends the time it takes to pay back the cost of solar panels and installation.

“It’s really a tough sell going from nine years to 16 years on a payback,” said Owens.

Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili pointed to information from the Distributed Energy Association of Saskatchewan, an industry group whose managing director spoke at the NDP convention this past weekend, which suggests orders have dropped by 90 per cent.

He faulted the government, including Premier Scott Moe, for claiming that the new program is among the best in the country. He said it’s the third worst.

But Dustin Duncan, minister responsible for Saskpower, drew on different data to suggest that the program is still retaining interest from customers. He noted that just 25 per cent of those cut off when the previous program reached its cap indicated that they weren’t moving forward under the resurrected net metering. According to Duncan, 36 per cent decided to go ahead with installing solar anyway, while 39 per cent are undecided.

Duncan said that means an additional 700 kilowatts of power. In his view, it’s a good sign, though he acknowledged interest is bound to slow down compared to the surge in demand that pushed generation far above the 16 megawatt cap Saskpower set for the previous program.

He said he’d be satisfied to see growth of a couple of megawatts every year.

But Meili argued that the new program will kill the industry. Owens said he already had to lay off two workers, and predicted he’ll lose more.

He signalled that he might have to completely shift what he does.

“We’re going to have to diversify,” he said. “All we do right now is solar.

“That’s our only focus. This is going to change that to us having to be more dynamic … because that won’t be sustainable.”