Quick answer: Nova Scotia homeowners who signed a solar contract with Xolar in 2025 paid a median of $42,895 for a 12.3 kW system (about $3.35 per watt, taxes included, before any incentives). Systems with a battery came in around $65,000. Nova Scotia Power charges about 19.1¢/kWh, among the highest rates in Canada, and with the SolarHomes rebate closed, a system’s value now comes from the power it saves you under NS Power’s Self-Generation Option, plus financing such as Halifax Solar City.
What Nova Scotia homeowners actually paid (Xolar contract data)
These are the contract prices Nova Scotia homeowners signed with Xolar in 2025, taken from our project records. Prices are the as-signed contract value with taxes included, before any incentive. Groups with fewer than five contracts are left out so no single home can be identified.
| System | Contracts | Typical size | Median price | Middle half of prices | Median cost per watt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar only | 16 | 12.3 kW | $42,895 | $33,252 to $48,263 | $3.35/W |
| Solar with a battery | 5 | 12.5 kW | $65,216 | $61,049 to $67,819 | $4.88/W |
The battery row rests on only five contracts, so treat it as a rough guide. Your own price depends on your roof, your electrical panel, the equipment you choose and how much of your usage you want to cover. A free quote prices your actual home.
How much a solar system produces in Nova Scotia
Natural Resources Canada publishes the expected yearly output of one kilowatt of solar panels, facing south at the best tilt, for every Canadian municipality. For Nova Scotia:
| Community | kWh per kW per year (south-facing, ideal tilt) |
|---|---|
| Halifax | 1,073 |
| Dartmouth | 1,075 |
| Bridgewater | 1,080 |
| New Glasgow | 1,082 |
| Truro | 1,095 |
| Kentville | 1,123 |
| Amherst | 1,124 |
Real roofs produce less than these ideal figures because of orientation, shading and snow. Across the solar systems Xolar monitors, actual output has run at roughly 85 to 90% of Natural Resources Canada’s figure for the area. A well-placed Halifax system can expect somewhere around 920 to 1,070 kWh per kW per year.
Source: Natural Resources Canada, Photovoltaic potential and solar resource maps of Canada, municipality database.
What solar saves on a Nova Scotia Power bill
Nova Scotia Power’s standard residential energy charge is 19.128¢ per kWh (rates updated May 1, 2026), plus a fixed customer charge of $20.08 a month that solar does not reduce. Every kWh your panels supply is a kWh you don’t buy at that rate.
New residential systems connect under NS Power’s Self-Generation Option:
- It covers systems up to 27 kW that share your home’s meter. There is no application or fee to join.
- Power you send to the grid is banked 1:1 at the retail rate and used against your bills through the year.
- A surplus beyond what you use over the year is not paid out, so a system sized to your annual usage gets the most value.
The older net metering program, which bought back year-end surplus, only applies to customers who enrolled before April 22, 2022.
A rough guide: each kilowatt of panels produces about 920 to 1,070 kWh a year in the Halifax area, worth roughly $175 to $205 a year at today’s energy charge. A 12 kW system that your household fully uses would offset about $2,100 to $2,500 a year. Rates have been rising, which increases what each kWh is worth over the life of the system.
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Solar rebates and financing in Nova Scotia (2026)
- SolarHomes rebate: closed. Efficiency Nova Scotia stopped accepting new homeowner applications on April 17, 2025. Registered non-profits and charities can still apply to the Solar for Non-Profit pilot.
- Home Battery Pilot: closed. It reached its enrollment limit and is no longer accepting applications.
- Eco Shift: paused. New enrollment was paused on April 9, 2026 while the program is updated, and home batteries are being removed from it.
- Halifax Solar City financing. Halifax Regional Municipality finances solar through a charge on your property, repaid over 10 years at a fixed 4.75%. You can pay it off at any time without penalty. It covers the whole municipality, including Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville.
- Municipal PACE programs. Some other municipalities offer similar property-based financing. Switch West Hants, for example, offers 6.45% fixed over 10 to 15 years.
- Community solar. If you can’t put panels on your roof, the province’s Community Solar Program pays subscribers a credit of $0.02 per kWh.
Programs change often. Our rebate finder lists every current program by province, with the date each one was last checked.
Is solar worth it in Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia has two things going for solar: some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and a credit system that values your solar at the full retail rate across the year. Against that, there is currently no provincial rebate for homeowners, and a battery adds significant cost with no Nova Scotia incentive to offset it.
Solar makes the most sense for homeowners who have a sunny, south-, east- or west-facing roof, plan to stay in the home for many years, and use enough electricity over the year to absorb what the panels produce. Sizing the system to your annual usage matters more here than in provinces that pay for surplus power.
Xolar has installed solar systems across Nova Scotia. See our solar installers in Nova Scotia page for local installs and communities we serve, including Halifax.
Frequently asked questions
How much do solar panels cost in Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia homeowners who signed with Xolar in 2025 paid a median of $42,895 for a 12.3 kW solar-only system, about $3.35 per watt with taxes included. Smaller systems cost less overall but more per watt. Systems with a battery came in around $65,000.
Is there a solar rebate in Nova Scotia in 2026?
Not for homeowners. The SolarHomes rebate closed to new homeowner applications on April 17, 2025, and the Home Battery Pilot is closed. Halifax homeowners can finance a system through Solar City at a fixed 4.75% over 10 years.
What happens to the extra power my panels produce?
Under Nova Scotia Power’s Self-Generation Option, power you send to the grid is banked 1:1 at the retail rate and used against your bills through the year. A surplus beyond what you use over the year is not paid out.
How much electricity does a solar system produce in Nova Scotia?
Natural Resources Canada estimates about 1,073 kWh per kW per year in Halifax for an ideal south-facing system, and up to about 1,124 in Amherst. Real roofs typically produce 85 to 90% of that.