HOW SOLAR OFFSET WORKS
JOIN US AT OUR WEBINAR
To best understand the process and benefits of joining Solar Offset, we recommend attending one of our monthly webinars. These 30-minute webinars offer a comprehensive explanation of Solar Offset's service offering and ample time to discuss any questions you may have. To register for a free webinar, click below:
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
To meet government eligibility rules you must be the owner or lessee of a solar array that:
Is located in Alberta
Is connected to the
Alberta electricity grid
Is under 5 MW in size
Started generating
after Jan 2, 2012
Some grants and incentives prevent you from creating carbon offset credits - see our post about this here. To check your eligibility, complete our no-obligation application.
UTILITY SCALE SYSTEMS
Although systems of 5 MW or larger cannot join Solar Offset's aggregation pool, they can still create carbon offset credits in Alberta! Solar Offset has considerable experience in consulting on and managing the quantification, reporting, and verification process for utility-scale renewable energy projects in Alberta.
To find out more about how Alberta's carbon markets can improve the economics of your utility-scale renewable energy project, get in touch with us!
WHAT ARE CARBON OFFSETS?
One carbon offset credit represents one tonne of CO2 emissions reduction.
When a clean energy system - such as energy from a solar panel or wind turbine - avoids one tonne of CO2 emissions, it can create one carbon offset credit.
That credit can then be sold to industrial facilities that are unable to meet regulated emission reduction targets.
The Alberta government requires rigorous data collection, record retention, reporting, and independent auditing to international standards to create carbon offset credits.
This process ensures that the greenhouse gas emission reductions are both real and permanent.
WHY ARE CARBON OFFSET CREDITS VALUABLE?
Alberta's provincial government legally requires large industrial polluters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; however, for some industries, achieving this target is challenging due to the nature of their operations. This is where carbon offset credits come in.
Companies that cannot reduce their own emissions can choose to instead purchase carbon offset credits to meet their obligations. As such, a thriving carbon market has developed in Alberta, with tens of millions of carbon offset credits created and sold since the market was established.
Solar Offset turns your clean energy production into verified carbon offset credits and sells them in this market, returning income to you, the system owner, once per year.
HOW MUCH CAN I EARN?
With Solar Offset, you earn revenue from carbon offset credits for every kWh of clean electricity your system generates. The more electricity that you generate, the more credits you can expect to make. The more credits you make, the more you get paid.
To calculate the potential return from your solar energy system:
FUTURE PRICE OF CARBON
The Alberta Provincial Government has announced that, starting in 2023, the benchmark price of carbon will rise by $15/tonne every year until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030:
2022: $50
2023: $65
2024: $80
2025: $95
2026: $110
2027: $125
2028: $140
2029: $155
2030: $170
It's important to note that the value of carbon offset credits is not the same as the 'federal benchmark carbon price'. Typically, Alberta carbon offset credits sell for 70% to 90% of this amount, depending on market dynamics at the time.
Solar Offset retains a fixed percentage of the credit sales revenue as its commission. This means that as the price of carbon rises, so does the revenue you make from your offset credits.