Despite municipalities throughout the Lower Mainland claiming to be greener than the next, environmentally-conscious homeowners are finding B.C. is way behind the times when it comes to solar power.
Surrey resident Pat McCutcheon found that out the hard way when he installed solar panels on his roof, which led to additional fees he says were due to unnecessary red tape.
“As a city, we can be a follower or a leader,” McCutcheon said. “And right now, the city of Surrey is definitely a follower.”
The 12 panels themselves had already cost McCutcheon about $15,000. However, he also had to pay $628 for Surrey building and electrical permits, as well as an additional $1,596 for the professional engineering required before the city would even give him the go-ahead for the installation.
Even electrical workers agree that the permits are too much of a burden.
Financial incentives for homeowners to install solar panels have become a growing trend throughout the American west coast, particularly in California, which offers federal tax credits towards purchase and installation costs. Some cities, including San Francisco, even require all new homes and buildings to include solar panels.
In B.C., there are no such incentives, which McCutcheon says is a mystery for such an environmentally-minded province.
“Why we don’t start moving in that direction is beyond me,” he said. “It just makes sense. This is clearly the way the future is going and we need to move in that direction.”
The City of Vancouver’s regulations for solar panel installation are equally restrictive. The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation estimates the cost of all the permits required to install solar panels in Vancouver is six times what it costs for an equivalent system in Toronto or Calgary.
The city’s Green Homes Program, which includes a number of requirements for new one- and two-family homes designed to be more energy efficient, has no mention of solar panel installation.
Surrey didn’t even have regulations in place for solar panel installation until earlier this year because they’ve only ever received about a half-dozen applications. Mehran Nazeman, the building division manager for the City of Surrey, says the city is open to lobbying the provincial government for incentives.
“If there is the interest and we see the interest, we have to act on it,” Nazeman said.
With files from Ted Chernecki
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