Canada’s First Project in Subscription-Based Community Solar Garden Program to Launch in Cape Breton

The first project in Canada’s first subscription-based community solar program will bring affordable, renewable electricity to residents of a rental housing development in Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM).

Following the launch of the Community Solar Program earlier this year, community development corporation New Dawn Enterprises will supply clean electricity to housing units and other buildings at its Pine Tree Park Estates property in Sydney. People buy a subscription for the solar energy and receive a credit on their bill from Nova Scotia Power.

“This is great news for Cape Breton, and great news in our efforts to reduce emissions,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “Clean, renewable energy is the way of the future, and New Dawn is making this affordable resource available for vulnerable Nova Scotians with the country’s first-ever subscription-based community solar garden.”

The community solar garden has 29 residential and commercial subscribers who will have access to 555 kilowatts of solar energy. The solar garden is expected to be operational later this month.

The Province created the Community Solar Program to provide people who cannot install their own solar panels the option to buy solar power from a community provider. The reasons why people cannot generate solar power vary, including lack of roof space, too much shade, living in an apartment, condo or other shared housing arrangement, or cost.

The Community Solar Program is part of Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan for Clean Growth. The government is committed to introducing at least 500 megawatts of new local, renewable energy by 2026 and an additional 50 megawatts of new community solar, which will be built over the next five years. The plan aims to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future for all Nova Scotians. It includes initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, switch to clean energy, create a clean economy, make homes and buildings energy efficient and able to stand up to the impacts of climate change, and help Nova Scotians adapt to the changing climate.

Quotes:

“Energy poverty in the CBRM is among the worst in the province. Mechanisms like community solar enable communities and community organizations, like New Dawn in partnership with the Verschuren Centre, to take actions that help to ease some of this difficulty. The Pine Tree project lowers utility costs and reduces our negative impact on the climate. It is a win-win.”
— Erika Shea, CEO, New Dawn Enterprises

Quick Facts:

• the Province contributed $475,000 in 2023-24 to help New Dawn Enterprises install the solar garden; the Province is investing an additional $5.2 million in 2024-25 to help with the capital costs of building community solar gardens at other locations, which is anticipated to leverage more than $200 million in capital investments
• one megawatt of solar power can power more than 100 homes for a year; each community solar garden can produce from 0.5 to 10 megawatts of power
• the Community Solar Program advances action 18 in Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan
• eligible groups can work together to build and own a solar garden
• subscribers will get a solar energy credit of $0.02 per kilowatt hour on their power bill for energy generated by their subscription

Additional Resources:

More information on the Community Solar Program is available at: https://energy.novascotia.ca/renewables/community-solar-program

News release – Affordable Housing Community: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2023/03/17/affordable-housing-community-cape-breton-reach-net-zero-emissions

News release – Province Launches Community Solar Program: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/03/01/province-launches-community-solar-program

Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan for Clean Growth: https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/ns-climate-change-plan.pdf

Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/environmental%20goals%20and%20climate%20change%20reduction.pdf

Natural Resources and Renewables on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/NS_DNRR