A new online interactive report shows Ontario is one of four Canadian provinces where installing solar power makes financial sense.
The National Energy Board report, the Economics of Solar Power in Canada, estimates the amount and cost of electricity solar projects might generate in four scenarios: residential, commercial, community and utility-scale. It also compares these costs to local electricity prices allowing people across the country to understand the implications of installing solar now or in the near future.
Whether solar power is competitive in a province often depends more on local electricity prices than the amount of sunlight received.
Homeowner, businesses and communities are expected to save money with solar in many places in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
The cost to install solar has decreased over the past five years in Canada, making solar power more cost competitive with other forms of traditional electricity generation. As costs fall in the future, break-even prices will continue falling too, making solar installation more affordable for Canadians.
This unique resource is the only interactive tool available to Canadians that provides guidance in assessing solar installation viability at a residential, business or community level.
"As provinces try to increase the amount of renewables in their electricity mix, via residential, commercial, community and utility-scale systems, it becomes important to understand the economics of solar power in Canada, especially when compared to what consumers pay for electricity from the grid," said Jean-Denis Charlebois, chief economist, National Energy Board
In 2017, utility-scale solar was about two per cent of Canada's utility-scale electricity-generation capacity. However, because solar is only able to generate electricity during daylight hours, it generated less than one per cent of Canada's power.