Solar panels in Estevan, Saskatchewan

Estevan produces more solar energy per kW than any other city in Canada at 1,400 kWh/kW. Known as the “Sunshine Capital of Canada,” Estevan’s extreme production partially offsets SaskPower’s 7.5¢/kWh net metering credit.

A 10kW system in Estevan generates approximately 14,000 kWh per year – more than the same system would produce in Calgary, Toronto, or any other Canadian city.

Saskatchewan has the highest solar irradiance in Canada, and Estevan sits at the very top.

SaskPower’s net metering program allows residential systems up to 100 kW. Excess energy is credited at 7.5¢/kWh – credits never expire until your account closes.

The current net metering program has been extended to March 31, 2029. Terms after 2029 have not been announced.

There is no provincial solar rebate from SaskPower. The federal Greener Homes programs are now closed.

Check all available rebates ->

Estevan is modelled at 1,400 kWh per kW a year — the highest figure of any city Xolar serves, ahead of Swift Current at 1,380 and Moose Jaw at 1,370, and comfortably ahead of the best Ontario has to offer at 1,210. So why does a payback here run 12 to 16 years, longer than in cities with markedly worse sun? Two reasons, and neither is about the weather. The first is that SaskPower offers nothing towards the cost. Asked directly whether it has incentives for residential solar, SaskPower’s own answer is that there are no rebates or programs. An Ontario homeowner can take up to $10,000 through the Home Renovation Savings Program; an Estevan homeowner starts from the full price. The second is the part of the bill solar cannot touch. SaskPower’s basic charge is $31.16 a month — about $374 a year — and it stays on the bill no matter how much you generate. Sunshine reduces the 15.476 cents per kWh energy charge; it does nothing to the fixed monthly floor underneath it. None of that makes solar a poor decision in Estevan. It means the honest pitch here is not a short payback but a long, reliable one, on the best resource in the country, with a credit arrangement that is unusually patient — see below.

Most of what gets written about Estevan’s sunshine concerns how much electricity you can make. The more practical consequence is how little equipment you need to make a given amount.

At 1,400 kWh per kW a year, Estevan is the strongest solar resource of the 102 places on this site. Set that against Mount Pearl at 933, and the same annual output needs roughly half again as much installed capacity in Newfoundland as it does here. Against a mid-table Ontario city at around 1,150, an Estevan system needs about 18% less capacity to produce the same kilowatt-hours in a year.

That is worth translating into things you can see. Fewer kilowatts means fewer panels, which means less roof area used, fewer penetrations, a smaller inverter and a lower installed cost for the same energy result. It also means a household whose roof is small, awkwardly oriented or partly shaded has more chance of fitting a system that still meets a meaningful share of its consumption — the constraint that stops projects elsewhere binds less tightly here.

What it does not fix is the payback, which runs 12 to 16 years in Estevan. Saskatchewan offers no residential solar rebate, so the system starts from full price where an Ontario one can claim up to $10,000, and SaskPower’s monthly basic charge stays on the bill regardless of what you generate. Estevan’s sunshine makes the system smaller and cheaper to build. It does not make the province pay you anything towards it.

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• Check Available Rebates ->
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