NS · Solar + Battery

Solar + battery installation in Nova Scotia

Pair panels with a battery to use more of your own power and keep the lights on in an outage. We check every provincial and utility rebate you qualify for. Free quote, ~2 minutes.

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8 kW
Average system size
$3.10/W
Average cost (CAD)
11 yrs
Average payback
35+
Local installers

Why solar in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is unusual in that the right to generate your own power is statutory rather than a utility programme you apply to join. Section 7 of the Electricity Act (2025, c. 18, Sch.) lets a Nova Scotia Power customer install a renewable low-impact generator or storage device of 27 kW or less as of right: no programme, no application and no fee. Nova Scotia Power must buy the excess at a rate equivalent to the rate you pay, up to your own total usage in a calendar year, and owes nothing for generation above that, so your annual consumption rather than your roof is the binding constraint on system size. Surplus kilowatt-hours bank and apply to the next bill. The residential energy rate is 19.128 cents per kWh as of 1 May 2026, which is what each offset kilowatt-hour is worth. Two practical notes: the regulator is now the Nova Scotia Energy Board rather than the former Utility and Review Board, and six municipally owned utilities, Antigonish and Lunenburg among them, sit outside Nova Scotia Power entirely and run their own connection process.

Incentives & rebates

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Federal Closed

Canada Greener Homes Loan

Closed to new applicants

Interest-free federal financing for home energy retrofits. Closed to new applicants; only previously approved loans are still being funded.

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Net metering: Self-generating option under the Electricity Act

Nova Scotia's arrangement is statutory rather than regulatory. Section 7 of the Electricity Act (2025, c. 18, Sch.) lets a Nova Scotia Power customer install a renewable low-impact generator or storage device of 27 kW or less as of right, with no requirement to join any utility programme, no application and no fee. Nova Scotia Power must buy the excess at a rate equivalent to the rate the customer pays, up to that customer's total usage in a calendar year, and owes nothing for generation above annual consumption, so a year's own consumption is the binding constraint on sizing. Surplus kilowatt-hours bank and apply to the next bill. The residential energy rate is 19.128 cents per kWh as of 1 May 2026. The regulator is the Nova Scotia Energy Board, not the former Utility and Review Board. Six municipally owned utilities, Antigonish and Lunenburg among them, sit outside Nova Scotia Power and run their own connection process.

Related Nova Scotia resources

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Tell us where your home is and we will match you with a vetted local installer.

How payback works in Nova Scotia

System cost
$24,866
Estimated net cost
$24,866
Estimated payback
~11.0 years
25-year net savings
~$31,648

These figures are illustrative; your actual quote reflects your roof, sun exposure, and local utility rates.

Cities we serve in Nova Scotia

1city with vetted local solar + battery installers.

Frequently asked questions

Is solar worth it in Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia has high retail rates and an unusually permissive arrangement, which together make the case here stronger than in most provinces. Section 7 of the Electricity Act lets a Nova Scotia Power customer install a renewable low-impact generator or storage device of 27 kW or less as of right, with no requirement to join a utility programme and no application. Storage adds outage resilience, though no federal tax credit is available to a homeowner to help fund it.
What rebates are available in Nova Scotia?
PACE financing, available in Halifax and other participating municipalities, attaches the cost to your property tax and lets you install with little upfront cash. Beyond that the value is in the electricity itself. The federal Clean Technology ITC is not available: it is a corporate credit under Income Tax Act subsection 127.45(1), so a quote applying 30 percent to your residential project is wrong.
How does enhanced net metering work in Nova Scotia?
The arrangement is statutory rather than regulatory, which is what makes it unusual. Section 7 of the Electricity Act (2025, c. 18, Sch.) gives a Nova Scotia Power customer the right to install a renewable low-impact generator or storage device of 27 kW or less, with no programme to join and no application to file. Confirm the current export crediting terms with Nova Scotia Power before fixing a system size.