Home Solar in Newfoundland and Labrador:

Newfoundland and Labrador is a province in northeastern Canada that is of moderate size and population. It is home to the city of St. John’s, which is the 20th-largest metropolitan area in the country.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial government policies do not favor solar rebates and incentives. Average energy prices and rate designs along with a poor interconnection policy make it an unfavorable place for residents to invest in solar energy.

Solar Incentives

Newfoundland and Labrador does not provide any solar energy rebates or incentives that help to reduce the overall cost of solar systems.

Our EnergyPal Advisors can help you navigate any local incentives in your area and also apply them to the available solar panel offerings.

Rebates and Tax Breaks

Unfortunately there are no provincial rebates or tax incentives in Newfoundland and Labrador. There may be some local ones in your town, so be sure to check.

Other Energy Incentives

Hydro’s takeCharge program offers incentives for many home and business efficiency upgrades like insulation, thermostats, appliances and LED lighting. The Home Energy Savings Program (HESP) helps low-income homeowners make energy efficient upgrades and repairs with grants of up to $5,000.

The Canadian federal government helps businesses to pay for their solar systems. It can abolish the first-year rule and achieve an accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) rate. For more information, visit the tax savings for industry portion of their website.

Utility Policies

Utility policy factors determine what your utility provider pays you for the excess power you produce and what you save on your power bill by reducing electricity usage. Newfoundland and Labrador gets a medium score for utility policies.

Interconnection Policy

One important policy for solar customers is called Net Metering. Net Metering is a billing mechanism that allows solar customers to push electricity to the grid for credit that can be used later, like at night when your solar panels aren’t generating power. This incentivizes people to go solar, provides clean energy for others to use and prevents waste.

Some provinces have poorer net metering policies than others, meaning that credits may not be able to be rolled over to the next month or year, or that you don’t earn full watt-for-watt credit for your excess energy.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Net Metering program is good. Credits can be carried over into the next month, and you can connect a system up to 100 kW in size. Credits do not carry over from year to year.

Solar Setup Fees

Unless you already have a bi-directional meter (necessary for Net Metering), Manitoba’s program charges you about $1000 to install one and complete an interconnection study. Other provinces do not carry this fee.

Electricity Prices

Electricity prices in Newfoundland and Labrador are on about average. Usually you don’t want high prices, but with solar, the higher the prices, the more you save, and the more economical a solar system becomes.

The average total cost of electricity in Newfoundland and Labrador is $0.138 per kWh, including fixed and variable costs, and assuming a monthly usage of 1,000 kWh. Under similar assumptions, the Canadian national average for all provinces is $0.135 per kWh.

Rate Design

Rate designs are comprised of monthly fees and either a flat or tiered rate you pay for electricity. Good rate designs, which save you money when you conserve energy, are tiered and have low fixed monthly fees. Poor rate designs have flat rates and high fixed monthly fees.

Newfoundland and Labrador is just below average when it comes to the quality of its electricity bill rate design. It has flat rates but moderate fixed fees (around $16 per month).

PACE Programs

PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy and is a financing program for solar projects that is tied to the home instead of the homeowner. The PACE program is not available in Newfoundland and Labrador. Refer to the provincial Hydro and Newfoundland Power takeCharge site for on-bill financing for energy saving upgrades.

Other Energy Financing

Solar systems can be financed by bank loans, solar installer financing, new home mortgages, energy loans and home equity loans or lines of credit. Cash works too. Talk to your EnergyPal Advisor about financing solar options in Newfoundland and Labrador. We regularly source the best deals and terms for customers.

Talk to your EnergyPal Advisor about financing solar options in Newfoundland and Labrador. We regularly source the best deals and terms for customers.