Released on August 29, 2011
The province's Go Green Fund has committed an additional $2.9 million to support environmentally preferred power generation options and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatchewan. The Net Metering Rebate Program provides rebates of up to $35,000 to people who wish to install small, less than 100 kilowatt (kW), wind, solar or other green power generation equipment and connect to the province's electricity system.
Funding for the program, administered by Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), is provided by the province's Go Green Fund and SaskPower. As of March 31, 2011, 265 small scale renewable power systems have been installed and over $1.7 million provided in refunds.
"Our government is committed to helping Saskatchewan people, communities and businesses Go Green," Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said. "The Net Metering Rebate Program assists people and innovative Saskatchewan businesses to install green power generation technologies."
The Go Green Fund will provide an additional $900,000 for the unexpected influx of applications received by SRC just prior to the March 31, 2011 deadline. The total installed capacity was over 1800 kW by the end of 2010/11 compared with 500 kW by the end of 2009/10 and under 100 kW in 2008/09.
The Go Green Fund is also providing an additional $2 million to extend the program for another year. The program, which originally concluded on March 31, 2011, is being extended to March 30, 2012, due to the significant increase in uptake in the past year.
The Net Metering Rebate Program complements SaskPower's Net Metering Program, which supports those who wish to generate their own power from environmentally friendly sources. A bi-directional or net meter is installed by SaskPower allowing the customer to record both the electricity they use and the electricity they generate. If the customer generates more power than they use, that excess electricity is fed back to SaskPower's electricity system, and the customer is given a credit on their power bill. SaskPower is working on improvements to the program to make it easier for customers to apply and get connected to the grid.
To learn more about the Net Metering Rebate Program and its application requirements and deadlines go to: http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/gogreen. For more information on SaskPower's Net Metering Program, including a list of approved technologies, and how to connect to the provincial grid, visit saskpower.com (click on the sustainable growth tab). To apply to the Net Metering Rebate Program visit http://src.nu/srcnetmetering.
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For more information, contact:
Barb Barootes
Ministry of Environment
787-6595
James Parker
SaskPower
Regina
Phone: 536-2886