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RAY OF SUNSHINE
Residential homeowners left in the dark as province rolls solar energy incentives CODY STUART
managing editor
W
hile the sun is set to shine a little brighter on some Albertans with news the provincial government will be offering increased incentives for solar power, others in the province are saying they’re being left in the dark. The Alberta government recently announced a $5-million Municipal Solar Program as part of its Climate Leadership Plan. Included in the plan are rebates of up to $0.75 per watt, to a maximum of $300,000 per project, to communities that install solar panels or set up solar panels in fire halls, community centres and offices. Another $500,000 will go toward Alberta farmers who wish to generate their own electricity. However, with the program largely ignoring the vast majority of residences, critics of the new incentives say they don’t do enough to encourage more Albertans to go green. “It’s a good start, but they’re not doing anything for residential houses. It’s all commercial and rural,” said Greenenergy Renewable Energy Ltd. president Geoff McArthur Founded in 2007, the Calgary-based company offers renewable energy equipment and systems to residential and commercial customers primarily in the Calgarian area, as well as in B.C.’s Shuswap region. McArthur said while he’s already seen an uptick in the number of rural Albertans looking to add solar energy to their farms, many would-be residen-
CODY STUART, MANAGING EDITOR
JAN14 971 FEB14 2,396 2,711 MAR14 3,319 APR14 3,753 MAY14 4,327 JUN14 3,817 JUL14 3,219 AUG14 3,147 SEP14 3,259 OCT14 2,919 NOV14 2,093 DEC14 1,381 JAN15 3,288 FEB15 2,950 MAR15 3,136 APR15 3,064 MAY15 3,161 JUN15 3,122 JUL15 2,733 AUG15 3,081 SEP15 2,678 OCT15 2,182 NOV15 1,491 DEC15 2,741 JAN16
CITY OF CALGARY
MLS® NEW LISTINGS* JAN ‘14 – JAN ‘16
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
tial customers could end up waiting for wider-reaching incentives. “It is triggering things,” he said. “A lot of people were sitting and waiting on the fence, waiting for incentives to come, and we still have many customers that are waiting for incentives to come for residential.” With the funding expected to account for about 160 projects and reduce carbon emissions by up to 8,400 tonnes over the next 25 years, Environment Minister Shannon Phillips has said the program is “just the beginning.” “The trouble is when you put out these carrots, it makes people sit and wait,” said McArthur. “So the residential homeowners are going to wait now, which means it’s going to be difficult for our business. “You either have to do it, or don’t talk about it. It’s good that they’re doing it, but I would rather it went to the actual homeowner or farm owner, rather than companies or municipalities.” The agricultural solar program builds on a pilot project that saw 61 projects reduce greenhouse gases by more than 360 tonnes and add almost 500 kW of capacity to Alberta’s electricity grid. Under the new program, farmers with a minimum of $10,000 farm commodity or livestock production income can receive 35 per cent of eligible costs (up to $50,000) for construction projects that install “high-efficiency equipment” or retrofit projects that improve the operation’s energy usage.
ENVIRONMENT A3
While he sees the province’s $5-million Municipal Solar Program as a positive first step, Greenenergy Renewable Energy Ltd. president Geoff McArthur says the new program may result in some Albertans sitting on the fence awaiting similar incentives for those in urban areas.
CALGARY HOUSING STARTS TRENDING DOWN CREB® STAFF
C
algary’s residential construction workers had a little more time on their hands in January. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), workers broke ground on 567 total (single-detached and multi-family) new homes in January, a 24 per cent decline from the previous January when workers broke ground on 747 new homes. Broken down by category, workers began construction on 225 new singledetached homes compared to 317 last January, while multi-family construction declined from 430 units in January 2015 to 342 units.
CONSTRUCTION A3
CONTENTS NEWS BRIEFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 FIVE THINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Calgary’s 2015-18 Action Plan
INDUSTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Public interest law clinic
WEEKLY FEED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 EVENT LISTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 DONNA BALZER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 Soil tips
MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 OPEN HOUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B23 MORTGAGE RATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B23 @crebnow
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