Canada

As of December 31, 2023, Canada’s PV sector reached approximately 8.0 GWDC of installed capacity, representing a 23% increase (or around 1.5 GWDC) over the previous year. These data and other information on PV policy, prices, and industry trends are reported in Canada’s annual National Survey Report (NSR) provided to the International Energy Agency.

At the national level, PV is eligible for several federal support programs including the CAD4.56 billion Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, the CAD 500 million Low Carbon Economy Fund, the CAD 520 million Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program, and the CAD 100 million Smart Grid program. There are also tax incentives for Canadian industry, including, more recently, the Clean Technology Manufacturing Tax Credit, which refunds 30% of costs for PV machinery and equipment. Provinces and territories also implement their own local support policies such as capital subsidies, self-consumption, net metering, and Property Assessed Clean Energy programs whereby PV costs are repaid through property taxes.  

Canada’s Clean Technology Manufacturing Tax Credit covers 30% of the costs for new machinery and equipment used to manufacture low carbon technologies or to extract minerals and other resources used in their fabrication. This option is available to eligible property that was acquired and became available for use on or after November 21, 2023.

At the federal level, PV systems research and deployment occurs mainly through the Renewable Energy Integration (REI) program of CanmetENERGY in Varennes. To this end, the REI program conducts PV research on the performance, durability, and costs of PV systems and components as well as their integration into buildings and electricity grids. CanmetENERGY in Varennes also studies PV system applications in remote Arctic communities in Nunavut, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and the northern Quebec region of Nunavik. Renewable energy deployment in these communities reduces diesel fuel dependence while increasing grid flexibility and energy storage options.

Aside from the installation of ground-mounted and rooftop PV systems, there is also interest in agrivoltaics among Canadian PV installers, project developers, and farmers. More work is needed to promote research, develop case studies for different crops and PV configurations, establish regulatory frameworks, and define and implement policy support mechanisms. Agrivoltaics Canada, a farmer-led not-for-profit advocacy group, was recently incorporated to help realize these goals. Agrivoltaics Canada works in partnership with representatives from the PV sector, as well as provincial and federal government agencies and academic institutions including the University of Western Ontario and the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph.    

The economic value of the Canadian PV industry in 2023 was approximately CAD 3.1 billion. The combined number of full-time manufacturing, installation, distribution, and research employment in this sector was estimated to be approximately 27 900 jobs. This estimate, outlined in Canada’s latest NSR, is highly conservative since it does not include PV system design and engineering, sales and marketing, project development and management, or legal/financial services and administration. Examples of several large PV manufacturers in the Canadian market include Canadian Solar, Heliene, and Silfab. Other participants in the production chain include Canadian Premium Sand, a major patterned glass supplier in North America. There is also a wide variety of array racking and component manufacturers and distributors. Turnkey prices in CAD per Watt (CAD/W), as reported in the NSR, are divided into rooftop (building-added PV) and ground-mounted systems. For rooftop PV systems from 5 to 10 kW, prices were around 2.30 to 3.90 CAD/W. Larger rooftop arrays from 10 to 100 kW had prices that were around 2.00 to 3.20 CAD/W. Commercial roof-mounted PV from 100 to 250 kW varied between 1.90 to 2.40 CAD/W. Small centralized arrays between 1 and 20 MW were from 1.65 to 1.90 CAD/W. For systems larger than 20 MW, prices were generally less than 1.31 CAD/W.