An Analysis of the Climate and Financial Benefits of Rooftop Solar Arrays on Ontario’s Single-Family Homes and the Barriers to Adoption
Potential for Ontario Rooftop Solar Power Generation
Ontario has great potential for rooftop solar power generation, which is good news as the need for this zero-carbon electricity is growing. Many single-family home rooftops can accommodate a 10 kW solar array or more, which is enough to generate as much electricity as the home uses over a year (net-zero electricity) while avoiding 1.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. That will increase to 3.9 tonnes per year by 2030 by displacing electricity from Ontario’s increasingly gas-reliant electricity grid.
Our Recommendations
We recommend that the Government of Ontario take the following actions to encourage homeowners to install rooftop solar systems.
More rooftop solar will benefit all Ontarians by helping to phase-out our gas plants, reducing the need for new high-cost nuclear reactors and new electricity transmission infrastructure, and creating green jobs.
- Standardize and lower the fees for connecting solar arrays to the electricity grid.
- Raise the cap for simplified grid connections from 10 kW to 25 kW.
- Pay owners for all net electricity exports.
- Provide homeowners with grants to install rooftop solar systems in recognition of both the climate benefits and electricity system savings generated by such systems.
More rooftop solar will benefit all Ontarians by helping to phase-out our gas plants, reducing the need for new high-cost nuclear reactors and new electricity transmission infrastructure, and creating green jobs.
This report was prepared for Ontario's Clean Air Alliance Research.