Solar club guide
Solar Club Plans & Micro-Generation in Alberta
How Alberta pays you for the power your panels export, how seasonal solar-club plans work, and when they are worth it.
Micro-generation
How Alberta credits your solar
Alberta’s Micro-Generation Regulation covers home and small business systems that generate electricity from renewable sources. A system is a small micro-generator if it is under 150 kW, which covers essentially every home. Small micro-generators are credited monthly for the power they export, at the retail energy rate in their agreement with their retailer.
In plain terms: when your panels make more than the house is using, the surplus flows out through your meter, and your retailer credits it at the same energy rate you pay for power you buy. The credit offsets energy charges on your bill. It doesn’t offset delivery charges, administration fees or riders, which are based on what you draw from the grid.
Two companies are involved. Your wire owner (EPCOR in Edmonton, FortisAlberta in most towns around it) approves the connection and installs the meter. Your retailer, which you choose, sets the rate and applies the credit. That second part is where a solar club comes in.
The Edmonton sun year
The Edmonton sun year, and why seasonal rates fit it
At 53.5° north, Edmonton gets about seventeen hours of daylight in June and seven and a half in December. A solar array here makes most of its year’s energy between April and September, and very little in the weeks around Christmas.
Alberta pays for that pattern well. Exports are credited at your retail energy rate, and seasonal solar-club plans let you sit on a high rate (around 30¢/kWh) while you are exporting all summer, then switch to a low rate (around 7¢) for the winter, when you buy more than you make.
That is the whole idea of a solar club: be on the high rate while you are a net seller, and on the low rate while you are a net buyer.
How the plans work
What a solar club plan is
A solar club plan is a retail electricity product for micro-generators. Instead of one rate all year, you pick between two:
- A high rate, around 30¢/kWh, for the months when your panels export more than you use. Every exported kWh earns that rate.
- A low rate, around 7¢/kWh, for the months when you buy more than you export. Every kWh you import costs that rate.
The important detail: the rate you pick applies both ways. On the high rate, you also pay around 30¢ for anything you buy, such as at night in July. That is why the switch timing matters, and why the plan suits homes that export a lot in summer.
“Solar Club” is a registered brand of one Alberta retailer, and it is the name most people search for. Several other retailers sell seasonal solar plans under their own names. Rates, admin fees, membership fees, contract terms and the rules for switching differ between them, so compare the whole package, not just the headline rate. We have no affiliation with any retailer.
Flat plan vs solar club, modelled
Here is what the same Edmonton systems are worth on each type of plan, using our standard assumptions: a home that uses about as much as the system makes, 35% of output used instantly, and 5¢/kWh of avoided delivery charges.
| System | Installed from | Flat 12¢ plan: saving yr 1 · payback | Seasonal solar club: saving yr 1 · payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 kW | $16,600 | ~$950 · year 15 | ~$1,380 · year 11 |
| 8 kW | $21,300 | ~$1,270 · year 15 | ~$1,840 · year 11 |
| 10 kW | $26,000 | ~$1,580 · year 14 | ~$2,300 · year 11 |
Model only, no rebate assumed. Solar club at ~30¢ April–September and ~7¢ October–March. Your result depends on your use pattern, your roof and the plan’s fees.
When to switch rates
The rule of thumb is simple: be on the high rate when your monthly solar output is bigger than your monthly use, and on the low rate when it isn’t. For most Edmonton homes that means:
- Switch to high in spring, usually around April, once days are long and the snow is gone.
- Switch back to low in the fall, usually late September or October, before production falls off.
- Check the notice period. Retailers typically need a few days’ notice and may limit how often you switch. Put a reminder in your calendar.
- Watch your app. Monthly production and consumption tell you exactly when you cross over.
When a solar club isn’t the best choice
Seasonal plans work because summer exports are large. They help less when:
- You use most of your own solar, for example with a large battery, so there is little to export.
- Your summer evenings are heavy, such as running central air into the night, because those imports cost the high rate.
- Your system is small relative to your use, so you rarely export at all.
- The fees outweigh the gain. Admin and membership fees can eat the benefit on a very small system.
We model your system on both plan types in your written estimate, so you see the difference for your own home, not an average.
Large systems: a different rule
Systems of 150 kW and above, up to 5 MW, are large micro-generators. They are credited at the hourly wholesale market price rather than a retail rate, which changes how they should be sized. This matters for big farms and industrial roofs. Commercial and farm solar
Questions
Solar club questions
What is the solar club in Alberta?
A seasonal retail electricity plan for people with solar. You choose a high rate (around 30¢/kWh) in summer, when your panels export most, and a low rate (around 7¢) in winter, when you buy most. The same rate applies to power you buy and power you sell. “Solar Club” is one retailer’s brand; other retailers offer similar seasonal plans.
Is a solar club plan worth it?
For most grid-tied systems that export a lot in summer, yes. In our model a typical Edmonton home gains roughly 45% more value from its solar on a seasonal plan than on a flat 12¢ plan. It is worth less if you use most of your own solar (with a battery, for example) or have electric heat that makes winter use very high.
Does Alberta have net metering?
Not by that name, but the effect is similar. Under the Micro-Generation Regulation, small systems under 150 kW are credited monthly for exported power at the customer’s retail energy rate. Credits offset the energy charges on your bill. Delivery charges, admin fees and riders are not credited.
When should I switch between the high and low rate?
Switch to the high rate in spring when your monthly output starts exceeding your use, usually around April, and back to the low rate in the fall when it drops below, usually in late September or October. Check your retailer’s notice period and any limit on how often you can switch.
See your system on both plans.
Your written estimate models your home on a flat plan and a seasonal solar-club plan, so you can see the difference before you choose. Free, no obligation.
250-250-2525Have these ready
- A year of power bills or the “kWh used” line from each. Twelve months tells us more than anything else.
- Your address, so we can check roof direction, pitch and shade on satellite imagery.
- A photo of your electrical panel with the door open. It shows whether an upgrade is needed.
- Plans for an EV, heat pump, hot tub or garage suite, so the system is sized for them.