Nova Scotia’s solar industry is concerned the plug may be pulled on the province’s solar rebate program.
That’s because Conserve Nova Scotia, the agency overseeing the solar rebate program, will shut its doors on March 31 and all of its 50 rebates and programs are being reviewed.
"We are all on pins and needles as to what is going to happen next," Richard Vinson, vice-chairman of Solar Nova Scotia, said Thursday.
Solar Nova Scotia is a lobby group that represents the industry.
Vinson said the rebates are important for building a viable solar industry in the province.
The rebate is $1,250 "but that makes a big difference to homeowners and it’s also a major marketing incentive," he said. Losing it would be "a big deal for the solar industry in this province."
And it would follow on the heels of the federal government’s decision last March to do away with its rebates for energy efficiency a year ahead of schedule.
"The industry is staying alive but not by a whole lot," said Vinson, who also owns Halifax-based Creative Solar.
Conserve Nova Scotia, formed four years ago, is being replaced by Efficiency Nova Scotia, which began operation on Jan 1. 2010 and has $41.9 million budget that is paid by Nova Scotia Power customers through a surcharge on power bills of almost three per cent. (In 2012, the budget is expected to increase to $61-million for energy conservation in the province.)
The rebate programs offered by Conserve Nova Scotia are still under review "so there has been no decision on them," spokeswoman Kim Silver said.
She said once the review is completed "we’ll make decisions whether programs will be transferred to other departments, maybe contracted to Efficiency Nova Scotia, end or be changed."
Silver did not say when the review would be completed.
Anyone interested in taking advantage of the programs should apply sooner rather than later, she said.
During the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Conserve Nova Scotia spent $465,392 providing a 15 per cent rebate on solar thermal panels for commercial, residential and industrial, according to Conserve Nova Scotia’s annual report released in June 2010.
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