Learn Solar Carbon Credits in Alberta

Re(source) Energy is a carbon offset development company that gives owners of grid-tied solar power systems (solar PV or solar panels) under 5 megawatts (<5,000 kW / <5 MW) the ability to create carbon offset credits in Alberta. We also facilitate the sale of these carbon offset credits to buyers in Alberta’s carbon market.

The value of the carbon offset credits created by a particular solar PV system depends on a variety of factors but with Re(source), a 10 kW capacity system may create around ~$6,221.74 in carbon offsets over the length of our standard 10 year term.

Re(source) then takes an administration fee of 25% of the total sale price of the created carbon offset credits.

This will result in the owner of the solar PV system receiving annual payments that will total to at least ~$4,202.67 at the end of the 10 year term.

Click here to sign up.

The solar PV system is eligible if:

1. It is under 5,000 kW DC.
2. It is located in Alberta.
3. It can provide proof of ownership.
4. It has a completed interconnection agreement with a utility. (this proves you are a micro-generator)
5. It was installed after January 2, 2012.

The micro-generator must not have relinquished or waived ownership of their emissions reductions or renewable energy attributes in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or using certain government grants/loans and other instruments. Check out our onboarding guide for details.

1. Any grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA)
2. Change Homes for Climate – Solar Program (Edmonton Solar Rebate)
3. Residential and Commercial Solar Program (EEA or NDP Grant)
4. Post-2019 Alberta Municipal Solar Program (MCCAC)
5. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
6. Building Energy Retrofit Accelerator (Edmonton)
7. City of Medicine Hat HAT Smart Program (if connected on or after January 1, 2022)

If you are not sure whether your solar PV system qualifies to create solar carbon offsets, feel free to send us an email or book a call and we will help you find out.

Click here to use our calculator for a rough estimate.

If you would like to see a detailed breakdown, submit this form and we will send you a carbon offset revenue estimate specifically for your solar PV system.

We will serialize the offsets for every year in January of the following year. When the offsets are given serial numbers by the Alberta Carbon Registry, we will issue the payments to every owner of the systems on our platform. This process will happen in January of every year until the end of your carbon offset term.

Each system’s offset creation period starts the date the system is added to our platform. The payment amount created by each system will depend on the market price per offset at the time the offsets are serialized and the grid factor during the year the system was onboarded to Re(source).

If you are a customer of a UtilityNet local energy marketer, you will receive your carbon offset credit payments through your energy provider.

We will send you our user agreement for you to review prior to onboarding your solar PV system to our carbon offset platform.

We will need you to provide the following information to start creating your carbon offsets:

1. A completed offset user agreement
2. A copy of your Driver’s License or other eligible form of ID for verification
3. A completed micro-generation interconnection agreement
4. An electricity bill issued after the date of your signed interconnection agreement which displays your:
5. Customer Account Number
6. Electrical Site ID #
7. Electrical Meter ID #
8. Solar installation invoice/agreement that shows your system has been fully paid for and displays the following:
9. System size (kW or MW)
10. Inverter manufacturer
11. Read-only access to your inverter(s) (we may assist you with this process which takes little time to set up)

Consult our onboarding guide for more information.

Re(source) uses COAST, a proprietary distributed energy resource (DERs) emission offset low-touch telemetry, aggregation, and quantification platform.

COAST helps Re(source) gather and quantify emissions reductions data from each solar PV system connected to its network without needing to interface with system operators/owners beyond the initial and brief onboarding process and issuance of payments to the owner(s). This means a Re(source) customer will only have to supply paperwork once, when they sign up to Re(source). Once the onboarding process is completed, a Re(source) customer only needs to wait until they receive their carbon credit payments.

COAST also provides the added benefit of constant and real-time solar PV system performance monitoring, so Re(source) can detect abnormalities or interruptions in your solar PV system’s electricity production and inform you as soon as they happen.

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In Alberta, the carbon pricing schedule is written into legislation at the provincial and federal level so it would require the repeal of both the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA) and Emissions Management and Climate Resilience Act (EMCRA) for the value of Alberta offset credits to equal to zero.

The Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation (TIER), of which the Alberta Emission Offset System is part of, is also a core component of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan:

“Through Budget 2023, invest $800 million in Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) funding across multiple sectors over 3 years for programs that will support jobs, reduce emissions and help Albertans adapt to climate change.”

The Alberta regulatory carbon market also creates economic benefits. Between 2007-2011, over $312 million in TIER fund payments were made by large emitters and reinvested into Alberta low-carbon projects and supporting activities. Over 55 million tonnes of emissions reductions, including offset credits, have been serialized as of November 2019. Although, since there is no obligation for price disclosure for offset credit transactions, improvements to market transparency remain to be seen.

Globally, the carbon credit market traded value was US$978.56 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$2.68 trillion by 2028 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.23% between 2023-2028. Re(source) sees the regulatory nature, stringency, and higher offset credit prices of the carbon market in Alberta as a precedent toward a more accessible, secure, reliable, and scalable emissions reduction framework that will allow us to funnel millions of dollars of offset credit revenue from the highest greenhouse gas emitting companies in Alberta into the pockets of everyday Albertans (and make installing solar for your home cheaper!).

Ultimately, participating in the carbon market with Re(source) is a speculative venture. We prioritize the minimization of risk our customers are exposed to by automating our carbon offset credit process and only claiming a fee once the offset credits are sold. Signing up with Re(source) means you do not have to pay for our service until your credits are exchanged for cash so there is only a possibility of you receiving money but no possibility of you losing money you already have. The main risk involved with participating in Re(source)’s carbon offset credit platform, as with other solar carbon offset credit platforms, is how much you will be able to receive in carbon offset payments, relative to the effects of policy changes to the carbon pricing schedule at the federal and provincial level, as well as market forces.

We are happy to answer your questions or discuss this topic in-depth. Look out for more content about this in the future. Meanwhile, you can book a call or send us an email. Contact Us.

SOURCES
1 International Emissions Trading Association – The World’s Carbon Markets: A Case Study Guide to Emissions Trading
2 Global Carbon Credit Market: Analysis by Traded Value, Traded Volume, Segment, Project Category, Region, Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2028