fbpx

We’re The Leading Supplier and Installer of Solar Panels in Rankin Inlet

Get a free solar feasibility analysis for your property:

Get a Free Analysis

$60,000 Forgivable Loan Program

Get $60,000 from the government for home improvements, $15,000 of which can go toward solar.

Save Money On Your Energy Bill

Due to recent innovations in solar technology, solar power is now an economical and environmentally friendly option for Nunavut residents.

Get a Quick ROI

We can help you size your system to get the fastest possible return on your investment.

Residential Initiatives

  • Federal Programs
  • Canada Greener Homes Federal Grant
    • The Canada Greener Homes Federal Grant was established in May of 2021 and is available to homeowners throughout Canada as part of the Canada Greener Homes Initiative.
    • It offers eligible homeowners a maximum of $5,000 with up to $600 for pre/post-retrofit evaluation costs.  Canadians living in the North are eligible for an additional 30% and additional insulation measures. 
    • For more information or to apply for this grant, visit the Canada Greener Homes Grant homepage.  
  • Canada Greener Homes Federal Loan
    • The Canada Greener Homes Loan is available to eligible Canadian homeowners who install renewable energy systems, including solar.  It ranges from $5,000 to $40,000. 
    • The loan is repayable over a 10-year term with zero interest.    
    • For more information or to apply, visit the Canada Greener Homes Loan homepage.

Government of Nunavut Programs

  • Renewable Energy Homeowner Grant Program
    • This program is a partnership between the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) and the Climate Change Secretariat (CCS).  It provides eligible homeowners with a non-repayable grant of up to $30,000 or 50% of the project (whichever is less) for the installation of renewable energy systems, including solar.  
    • The grant may be claimed after the project has been approved and completed.
    • Applicants must have QEC net metering approval before submitting an application.  
    • For more information or to apply for this grant, visit the Nunavut Housing Corporation website
  • Renewable Energy Cabin Grant Program
    • This program is funded by the Department of Environment’s Climate Change Secretariat (CCS).  It offers eligible cabin owners a one-time, non-repayable grant of $5,000 to offset the cost of installing renewable energy systems, including solar.
    • The project must be completed within 12 months of approval.

For more information or to apply for this grant, visit the Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat website.

  • Nunavut Housing Corporation Forgivable Loan
    • This program provides a forgivable loan of up to $15,000 for home renovations including but not limited to solar panel installation.
    • To be eligible your home must be at least 5 years old.

For more information visit the Nunavut Housing Corporation website.

Commercial Inititiatives

Federal Programs

  • Clean Energy Technology Tax Credit
    • The federal government of Canada has announced a tax credit that will refund eligible Canadian businesses up to 30% of the cost of their capital investment in clean energy generation systems (solar included).
  • Federal Tax Incentive
    • With this program Businesses can deduct renewable expenses as capital costs at a rate of 100% in the first year, depending on the project.

For more information visit the Federal Natural Resources website.

Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC)

Grid-Tie Systems With QEC’s Net Metering Program

Homeowners across Canada are adding solar electric modules to their roofs in order to reduce their environmental footprint and save money on their utility bills.  Many homes produce 100% of their annual power needs through rooftop solar systems.  This is a green alternative compared with diesel which is devastating to many ecosystems.  Solar electric prices have fallen significantly over the last five years, making this an economically viable solution for homeowners and businesses alike in Rankin Inlet.

Commercial & Institutional Power Producer Program (CIPP)

CIPP allows existing commercial and institutional customers to generate power from renewable energy systems, including solar, and sell it back to QEC.  Customers can choose to interconnect at either the same point that’s currently used to power their facility or a different location.  For more information, visit the QEC CIPP page.

Independent Power Producer Program (IPP)

This program allows eligible power producers outside the utility to generate electrical power via alternative energy systems, including solar, and sell it directly to QEC.  For more information, visit the QEC IPP page.

three smartphones without background

24/7 Monitoring Available

We can provide you with a mobile app to track your power production 24 hours/day 7 days/week. Not only that, we can monitor your panels production as well, and if anything isn’t performing properly we’ll schedule a time to come back and get things working how they should be.

Let Powertec Solar Plan and Install your Solar Panels

Residential and commercial solar panels have been popular in southern areas for over a decade, but up until recently the technology wasn’t available to create solar panels that were efficient enough to produce a payoff in northern locations. Over the last 5 years however, solar panels have become more efficient and have decreased in price by over 80% making solar in Rankin Inlet a viable and economical solution for residents.

Get a Free Solar Energy Feasibility Analysis

Request a quote

About us

Solar is an economic, environmental and sustainable solution for energy production in Canada. As professional solar installers our mission is to help people in the private sector to take energy production into their own hands.  We have a manned office in Iqualuit making us the go-to choice for Nunavut solar.

Work & Projects

See pictures below of solar installations completed by Powertec Solar.

Solar Power in Rankin Inlet

Renewable energy and energy independence have become hot-button topics in our society. The need to create efficient energy production systems while mitigating harm to the environment is keenly felt throughout the world, and Rankin Inlet is certainly no exception. Since 1947, the average temperature in Nunavut has increased by 2.7 degrees, and thawing permafrost has threatened infrastructure, building foundations, archaeological sites and land-based travel. The unique flora and fauna of the region are also threatened by changes to the climate.

The Quilliq Energy Corporation (QEC) is Rankin Inlet’s sole supplier of energy; it operates 25 independent power grids for each of the territory’s communities. Nunavut is Canada’s largest region; it is, however, sparsely populated, so creating an interconnected territory-wide grid is not economically feasible. QEC relies almost entirely on diesel fuel imports to run it’s power generators; this is both costly and environmentally unsustainable. The independent grid system is also at risk, because when a power failure occurs it’s impossible to transfer power from another grid to sustain energy supply; QEC relies instead on emergency power generators when things go awry.

The price of importing the fuel to sustain these systems is extremely high, as Nunavummiut who have exceeded the subsidy limit and paid QEC unsubsidized rates know all too well. The WWF has estimated that an average of $60.5 million dollars worth of subsidy money is used each year to keep the cost of electricity reasonable. The costs of fossil fuel, both in terms of real dollars and in terms of environmental impact seem unfeasible, and reliance on QEC’s power generators can be problematic, so Rankin Inlet must find a sustainable method of producing electricity reliably in it’s independent grids. The solution? Solar panels.

There was a point in time where solar panels would not have been practical in Rankin Inlet; northern regions especially don’t get as much sunlight as older photovoltaic cells required to generate energy. New technologies have increased the capacity of these cells to convert solar power into usable electricity, and panels have recently been installed on Iqaluit’s power plant to prove the concept. QEC has also introduced a net metering program, which is one of two great incentives for Nunavummiut to install solar panels. The other incentive comes from the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) in the form of a forgivable loan of up to $15,000 through the Home Renovation Program (HRP) for the costs of installing new energy efficient technologies.

Combining the net metering program with the HRP can generate tremendous savings for Nunavummiut. The net metering program allows you to transfer energy from your solar panels into the grid, and QEC will compensate you for every kilowatt-hour transferred by giving a credit on your account that can be used at a later date. The Government of Canada conducted a study on how much solar energy photovoltaic cells absorb per municipality; on average, a 5 kW solar system in Rankin Inlet will produce 5579 kWh of electricity per year. The average consumption of electricity per capita in Nunavut is 5100 kWh, so a 5 kW system would in most cases offset your entire electrical bill for the year! After subsidy, power bills are often around 30 cents per kWh; that means savings of around 1530$/year; it can be substantially more if you’re paying unsubsidized rates! Note that in the winter months, you’ll get less solar energy, so the credits will be less substantial; that works out just fine, though. QEC allows you to roll over credits so when you create more electricity than you consume in a given month, you can use the extra credits in the following month. That means electricity you produce during the summer can be credited back during the winter, when your energy consumption will be higher!

There’s no doubt that using solar panels in Nunavut can cut your QEC bill down to zero, but the cost of installing them can be a bit intimidating. That’s where the NHC forgivable loan comes in; $15,000 will take a hefty chunk out of the cost of installing solar panels. There are a few conditions you want to be aware of; first, the subsidy comes in the form of a forgivable loan. Essentially, the loan does not have to be repaid if the conditions of the Loan Agreement are met. To be eligible, your home must be at least five years old. The full terms of the program can be found here.

QEC and NHC officials confirmed that the two subsidies can, in fact, be used in tandem to drastically offset the price of your energy. The NHC incentive only applies to residential installations. Businesses, conversely, can apply for a federal tax incentive, allowing them to deduct renewable expenses as capital costs at a rate of 100% in the first year, depending on the project, which coupled with the net metering program means drastic savings.

The increased use of solar energy in Rankin Inlet will have drastic, lasting and positive implications for the territory and its citizens. Reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels will boost the territory’s independence, and help mitigate the effects of climate change. Citizens with solar panels and battery backup systems will be less reliant on grids that have central fault points; solar panels and battery backup systems can save lives during hazardous power outages. Adding solar panels to your home is subsidized by the NHC, QEC will credit you for all the power generated, potentially dropping your power bill to zero, and businesses can get tax credits to install panels. There’s no question about it, it’s time for Rankin Inlet to go solar; we’ll be with you every step of the wa