Ontario's new home rebates program falls short for solar panels in rural areas, says installer

A solar panel installer in northeastern Ontario says the province's new Home Renovation Savings Program falls short for people who live in rural and remote areas.

Helmut Boettcher owns a company called Renewable Energy Solutions based in Thessalon, east of Sault Ste. Marie.

He installs solar panel and battery storage systems, and says the vast majority of his customers are not connected to the provincial grid.

But government rebates of up to $10,000 for solar panels and battery storage from the Home Renovation Savings Program don't apply to homes that are off the grid.

"If you're running a fly-in camp up in northern Ontario and you want to upgrade your solar in order to reduce generator time, you are not eligible for that grant," Boettcher said.

He said that even $5,000 can go a long way with solar panels today, and would be enough to purchase a 15-kilowatt system, which could power an average off-grid home most of the year, with only minimal need for a generator.

Boettcher said ground-mounted solar panels are also ineligible for the new grants, and only rooftop panels are accepted.

"I understand if you're living in Toronto and you've got a postage stamp lot, you cannot build a ground panel system," he said.

"But if you're up here in northeastern Ontario and have got a little bit of room, a ground mount is much better."

Boettcher said most of his customers opt for ground-mounted panels because they have the space for them, and they can fit more panels on their property that way.

In an email to CBC News, Ontario's Ministry of Energy said the Home Renovation Savings Program's goal is to reduce demand on the province's electricity grid.

"As off-grid homes are not connected to the electricity distribution system, demand savings cannot be achieved through their participation in this program," the email said.

The ministry said there are other programs that do provide rebates for off-grid solar panels such as the Independent Electricity System Operator's Remote First Nations Energy-Efficiency Program. It provides funding support to remote First Nations communities to implement energy-efficiency projects.