Community Solar Garden Performance

A solar garden is a large collection of solar panels in one location. Our Community Solar Garden in Amherst is made up of 4,550 panels. It can help you save money as you don't have to worry about the upfront cost of solar panels or installing and maintaining them. It's also more accessible as you don't have to own a home or install rooftop panels - you can take part if you live in an apartment or condo. Subscribing customers play a role in our transition to cleaner energy.

The community solar garden is in the industrial park in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

All NS Power customers can apply. Eligible customers in Amherst will be accepted first, with remaining spaced being filled by customers from the rest of the province. 

You can apply for a subscription by filling out the form on this page.

You can apply to offset up to 100% of your annual electricity consumption with solar energy, up to a maximum of 100 kW. For the average home, 7 - 10 kW will cover 100%.

We're working towards 80% renewable energy by 2030. That means when you plug in your appliances, heat your home using electricity, or switch to an electric vehicle, you're plugging into a grid that's getting greener over time. The community solar garden gives customers an opportunity to offset the remaining portion of their energy use with clean energy generated from the solar garden.

The subscription fee, called the Monthly Solar Capacity Charge, is $6.86 per kilowatt (kW) of solar.

The cost will be offset by a monthly credit, called the Solar Energy Credit, which is based on your share of power produced. A customer is credited at a rate of 5.603 cents/kWh of solar energy generated (in 2022, rising by 2% per year).

For example:

If your average monthly bill is $100, with 100% solar offset, the subscription would be 4 kW. Therefore, your monthly charge would be $27.44 (4 kW x $6.86), or $329.28 annually.

A subscription this size is estimated to generate 5,514 kWh in 2022, worth $308.96 (5,514 kWh x $0.05603/kWh). Your net costs in the first year would be approximately $20, averaging $1.66 a month.

Long term subscribers will begin to see net savings anticipated in year 6 and cumulative savings in year 9.

The credit always depends on the amount of solar energy generated and will vary each month. Use our community solar calculator to help you see the range of potential benefits of the program.

Credits are estimated and not guaranteed.

The solar subscription fee (called the Monthly Solar Capacity Charge) will be added to your regular power bill. Community solar charges and credits (called the Solar Energy Credit) will be added under the miscellaneous charges section and are subject to HST. 

The Solar Energy Credit is based on the actual energy generated from the sun, so it will vary based on the season and the weather. The value of the credit (5.603 cents/kWh in 2022) will remain the same through the year, rising each year by 2% each January 1.

As daylight hours are longer in the summer, the Community Solar Garden will be able to generate more electricity, resulting in a greater credit in the summer.

You will continue to have equal billing amounts for your regular utility service, however the solar energy credit will fluctuate based on the season and how much energy the Community Solar Garden is producing. Therefore, you will see some variability in your monthly bill. 

Once you are approved for the program, you will be sent a confirmation email with the details of your subscription size, monthly payment, and estimated credits. You must click on the link to confirm your subscription within 5 days. You will get a reminder email at day 3 if you have not responded. Once you complete this step you will get an email welcome package. 

If the pilot if filled when you apply you will receive an email advising that you are on the waitlist. As space becomes available a representative will reach out to the waitlist to confirm if you are still interested in joining the program. 

Your subscription can move with you as long as you remain a customer. If you cancel utility service at any time, for any reason, the subscription will be cancelled and you will be subject to any waitlist that may exist upon reapplication.