Rooftop Solar Makes Sense, But Not Always. Avoid These Mistakes.

Friends, colleagues, associates and future friends and connections, I have an ask of you. Moreover, I'm imploring you to read this post and then repost, like, and share if/as you?see fit. This post is NOT political but has the potential to save friends,?family or associates a?great?deal of?$$$ and future pain and frustration. Please help ensure that this message goes viral in Alberta.

While not the primary message, energy inflation is real,?as is energy illiteracy. For many years, the cost of electricity has been insignificant?for many households which arguably?has?led to some complacency. As many have learned, the days of?cheap electricity appear to be behind us, at least for the foreseeable future. Steep?increases in the?past couple of years can?be attributed to several factors and are not the?point of this article. However, before I get to the real issue, if you or someone you know is still on Alberta's Regulated Rate Option (RRO), please advise them to get off the RRO at once.?

While price escalation/inflation is concerning, more alarming is the frequency that?I am hearing about homeowners being taken advantage of. This is true of a current breed of predatory organizations and individuals that clearly lack conscience or integrity. Allow me to explain.

For much of my solar career, which?includes exposure to Western and Northern Canada, there were a limited number of competitors. This was true as?the?total addressable market was small owing to the fact that solar PV did not make a great?deal of economic sense at $0.035/kWh or even $0.065/kWh. Rather, individuals often made the investment for personal reasons. The good news was that when it came to competition, we knew each other and there was mutual respect. As the?industry/opportunity was small, the competition was at times fierce which ensured pricing to homeowners and businesses remained low and value high.

In the past few years, Alberta went from fixed rates of around $0.06-$0.07 to 5-year fixed rates of nearly $0.13/kWh. The math is pretty easy. The increase is even more daunting for those either unwittingly paying the RRO (or worse, unable to get off the RRO). The average RRO through 2023 has been just shy of $0.20/kWh and when you add in the delivery charges, the variable cost can be close to $0.30/kWh. Homeowners are waking up to electricity no longer being a small household line item into something more painful. https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/historic-rates.aspx

Meanwhile, a couple of years back (May 2021), the Federal Government introduced the Greener Homes Program which originally consisted of a $5,000 grant. The Program was later (summer 2022) expanded to include a 10-year, 0% interest loan for up to $40,000. This is a fairly remarkable opportunity and given the rising costs of electricity, many saw?the opportunity presented and thousands have taken advantage of the Programs in Alberta to date. While I work in solar PV and know this area best, the Program addresses energy efficiency with solar PV being one of many options (insulation, heat pumps, windows, etc.) available to homeowners. The incentive for solar PV is $1,000/kWdc up to 5 kWdc but I would recommend that homeowners look at their energy audit to confirm which measure would make the most sense for their unique scenario.

The issue that I am sharing and asking for your help with is related to opportunism. Many organizations have seen Alberta as the next big opportunity and have directed their attention to our Province (it is a form of gold rush). They bring practices and approaches which are different from what we have seen here in the past. Now to be sure, different does not mean bad, but in many ways, it has been problematic for consumers.

While not an expert on the practice of door-to-door knocking and campaigns in neighbourhoods and communities, I have gleaned enough intel to offer a critique of them. From what I understand, the individuals deployed are not solar professionals. Rather, they are trained to sell. It may be security systems, roofing, windows, etc. but in this case, it is solar PV. They are armed with just enough information to be dangerous to those who are unsuspecting and either do not have the time or background/understanding to ask the right questions. The message often seems to be some variation of "the government is paying you to go solar", "you are crazy not to do it", "you will never again have to pay an electricity bill", or "the payback will be just a few years (or at least within the 10 years of the interest-free loan)" and they "need to move quickly at risk of being left out". There are many untruths and half-truths at best.?

From what I am hearing, once they have been let through the door (or given access) the information tends to come very quickly with several emails and documents to be authorized. Before the prospect knows it, they are in the vortex of these fairly sophisticated sales organizations and deposits are being requested to lock in a date.

It is also worth noting that oftentimes these individuals and organizations do not represent local solar PV installers. Rather, they are a third-party sales organization which takes a commission and passes it along to a subcontracted installer. The cost associated with these "middlemen" can be high (and at times very high), and to be sure, the costs will affect the?return on investment and payback duration of the PV system. Another concern is that the customer has no say over who the installer will be and what qualifications, experience, etc. they may possess. In fact, they may be among the first systems that the installer has completed as they learn on the job.

Prospective?customers should know that not every home is a great or even a good candidate for solar PV. Some are not very good and some are outright terrible. When they are not good or terrible, there is a decent chance that the payback could be in excess of 20 years or perhaps never in a?worst-case. Thus, signing up for a 10-year, interest-free loan makes no sense and these homeowners would be better to invest in a solar cooperative if they really want to have access to solar for whatever reason. A credible solar PV installation company will always train their staff to identify poor solar homes and rooftops and to convey this information to the homeowner.?

When you are trained to "eat what you kill" the reality is that every house and every rooftop is great for solar. Unfortunately, the benefits of the sold PV system, the grant and loan are largely realized by the sales organization and potentially by the sales individual. As someone who entered this industry as a labour of love, I am surprised to see the postings on Indeed and elsewhere for unskilled workers who will be trained on the high-pressure sales tactics and the systems used to convert the unsuspecting at huge premiums relative to the industry standards here in Alberta. $10,000 per week for a solar salesperson is an unbelievable sum of money and can only be achieved through very high margins and commissions by the sales organizations. It is therefore not surprising to hear pricing at, near or above $4/Watt (using the $40,000 loan and $5,000 grant as the basis for design and?pricing) when the cost should be much lower.?

To be clear, I have no problem with individuals earning a decent salary and companies making a profit. Rather, I am not okay with gouging and misrepresentation. I am even more concerned when the sales organizations have little or no ties to Alberta (e.g. a brick-and-mortar location) but rather, are largely extracting the profits outside of Alberta and will vanish when the opportunity is no longer as attractive. The result will be thousands of solar orphans.?

I sincerely hope that readers do not?read this as some kind of false flag, anecdotal information meant to rile the masses or an approach to drive?sales where I work, it is not. Solar PV makes sense for many but not for all. Solar PV almost never makes sense at $4/Watt on a rooftop and anyone suggesting it does (even at elevated electricity prices) should not be trusted.

If you leave this article with one takeaway, please let it be that friends do not let friends purchase anything from a door knocker or high-pressure salesperson.

If you are politically connected, the takeaway?ought to be that something needs to be done to end the predatory approaches being used to extract massive profits (often by outsiders to the Province/Country). The Provincial government can, via legislation, restrict the door-to-door sale of solar PV systems. This practice is already restricted for energy retailers in the Province after similar predatory efforts resulted in similar issues and concerns. However, the overall cost to individuals and the economy could be far larger with PV systems.

With the recent announcement that the Greener Homes Program will be winding down (there remains much that is unknown), there will be a great deal of money and effort spent (e.g. Facebook or Instagram?ads) to sign up customers before the funding ends. This is a dangerous time as these individuals and firms can now point to the announcement and target an individual's FOMO to close more opportunities. The pain that will be felt by consumers who overpay (by large sums), who have a system that is poorly installed (there are many examples being seen) by companies that will not be around when the funding dries up will be of a historic proportion. Please help to ensure the damage can be minimized.

Thank you very much for reading. Thank you even more for sharing.

Sincerely.

Greg Sauer