If you’re a solar owner in Alberta—or thinking about becoming one—there’s one simple program that can significantly boost your return on investment: the Alberta Solar Club.
Offered by select energy retailers, this program lets you strategically shift between high and low electricity rates based on the season. That means you can sell more solar at higher rates and buy electricity at lower rates—with a bit of smart planning.
Let’s break it down and explain why this matters for your wallet.
🧾 How Micro-Generation Works in Alberta
Alberta’s micro-generation program allows solar owners to:
- Use the power they produce first
- Export any excess to the grid
- Get paid for exported energy at their current retail rate
But here’s the challenge: if you’re on a floating or fixed rate with a retailer, you’re getting paid the same rate you’re buying power at. In winter, that might be 7¢/kWh, and in summer, 16¢/kWh—or more.
That mismatch is where the Solar Club comes in.
⚖️ What Is the Solar Club?
The Alberta Solar Club is a dual-rate program offered by some UTILITYnet-affiliated electricity retailers.
With it, you can manually switch between two rate plans throughout the year:
| Season | Rate Type | Buy + Sell Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Summer (May–Oct) | High Rate Plan | ~30¢/kWh |
| Winter (Nov–Apr) | Low Rate Plan | ~8.6¢/kWh |
🟡 Important: Whether you’re buying power from the grid or exporting solar to it, you get the same rate—depending on the season and plan you’re on.
💡 So How Do You Actually Save Money?
This is the key point: You save money by exporting more than you import in the summer, when the high rate applies—and importing more than you export in the winter, when the low rate applies.
Let’s say:
- In summer, you generate lots of excess solar and export 1,000 kWh. You’ll get paid 30¢/kWh = $300.
- You only import 300 kWh that month, also at 30¢/kWh = $90.
- Net credit: $210
In winter, you import more than you produce, but you’re only paying 8.6¢/kWh, which keeps your cost down.
By smartly switching between rates, you maximize your export value and minimize your import cost—boosting your annual return from solar.
🧠 Who Should Consider the Solar Club?
This program works best for:
- Homeowners or small businesses that export excess energy in the summer months
- Systems sized to offset annual usage or slightly overproduce in summer
- Solar users comfortable switching plans twice per year (we help with that)
⚠️ Things to Watch Out For
- You can typically only switch plans twice per year
- The high summer rate also applies to power you buy—so if you import a lot, your summer bill could rise
- Not all electricity retailers offer Solar Club rates
📉 TL;DR
- The Alberta Solar Club lets you toggle between high summer rates (e.g., 30¢/kWh) and low winter rates (e.g., 8.6¢/kWh) for both buying and selling power.
- You export more than you import in summer, maximizing your credits.
- In winter, you import more than you export, minimizing your costs.
- This strategy can significantly boost your solar ROI—especially with a properly sized system.
👋 Want to Set This Up?
We help our clients get set up with Solar Club retailers, choose the right switching windows, and optimize their systems for export profitability.
📩 Email us [email protected] and we’ll walk you through the steps to maximize your solar investment.