Solar Club helps micro-generators get more for their solar electricity
When it comes to making decisions
electricity from renewable or
about products and services for a
alternative energy sources. Under
home, choosing an electricity provider
the regulation, micro-generators
is probably one of the least exciting
receive credits for the electricity they
decisions to be made.
produce but do not consume. Small
When you break it down to its bare bones, electricity is electricity. There is nothing unique about the kWh sold
electricity sent back to the grid at their monthly retail rates.
by one company or another. But that
The Solar Club, launched by locally-
doesn’t mean shopping around in
owned energy retailer Utility Network
Alberta’s deregulated market shouldn’t
& Partners Inc. (UTILITYnet), was
be a priority; especially if you have
designed to pay micro-generators
installed a solar system on your home,
a reasonable price for the surplus
business or farm.
electricity they produce and ship back
A BRIGHT NEW PROGRAM FOR MICRO-GENERATORS Innovative. Profitable. Local. Three words that describe the Solar Club, one of the most popular electricity programs currently available to Solar PV Micro-Generators in Alberta.
14 ALBERTA SOLAR REVIEW • 2021
micro-generators are credited for the
to the grid. “Alberta has a wealth of imaginative and environmentally sensitive people, and the number of solar systems installed in the province is on the rise,” says Nick Clark, director of UTILITYnet. “This growth is encouraging, but we asked ourselves, how can we encourage even
Alberta’s Micro-Generation Regulation
MORE micro-generation investment in
allows Albertans to meet their own
the province? How can we help make a
electricity needs by generating
difference?”
