Introducing our Carbon Offset Credit Platform!
So you’ve taken the plunge and installed solar on your home just in time for summer. Your site is energized, and you’ve selected the Solar Club’s HI export rate of 25.85 cents/kWh. Now what?
That’s where our Carbon Offset Credit Platform comes in.
Carbon Whats?
A carbon credit (also known as a carbon offset) is a tradeable certificate that represents a one-tonne reduction in or removal of carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). By installing a solar PV system on your home, you have prevented the emissions that would have taken place if you were still importing energy solely from the grid.
Those carbon credits can then be sold on the open market by way of aggregators, where they are purchased by other entities seeking to offset their own emissions. Through our Carbon Offset Credit Platform, your site is aggregated into a large pool so that there are enough credits to sell and to justify the high administrative burden of registering a project with the Alberta Emissions Offset Registry (AEOR). This serves two purposes: 1) it reduces the administrative cost associated with selling carbon credits, and 2) everyone gets a fair price for the carbon credits they generate.
How The Program Works
Getting paid for your carbon credits is easy. The first step is to decide between fixed and variable pricing for your carbon credits. If you’re not sure which pricing model is right for you, simply ask yourself: what is my risk tolerance level? To get a stable price for your carbon credits that will hold regardless of market prices, then our fixed price offering is the one for you. If you are comfortable with fluctuating market prices, then our variable rate is the best option.
Once you’ve settled on a pricing model, you can register with the specific aggregator to get started. They will ask a series of questions to determine your eligibility for participation in the program. Eligibility is based on whether or not you meet certain criteria such as ownership of the system, energization after January 2, 2012, and that you retain the right to sell the carbon credits. Retaining the right to your credits is a critical part of enrollment because some funding grants require you to relinquish ownership of the carbon credits or environmental attributes. Unfortunately, those credits cannot be sold or counted twice, so any part of your system that has been paid for using a grant that takes ownership is ineligible.
Once you are registered in the program, all you have to do is sit back and let your solar PV system do its thing. After the generation period concludes each year, your carbon credits will be verified and serialized, then sold on the market. Once sold, you will receive the first of many annual payments!
Where Do I Sign Up?
By installing solar panels on your home, you’ve demonstrated a desire to help green Alberta’s energy grid. Now you get to reap the rewards of your investment, not only in the form of clean, renewable energy, but also by speeding up the payback on your system.
When you’re ready to sign up, just visit our Carbon Offset Credit Platform and then you’re good to go.
Not a Solar Club Member yet? The Solar Club is a unique offering for microgenerators in Alberta. As a Member, you gain access to two solar rates (a HI export rate of 25.85 cents/kWh for the summer months, and a LO export rate of 8.3 cents/kWh for the winter months) that you can toggle between at your discretion. We also green 50% of your annual consumption by retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) on your behalf at no extra cost to you. AND, we pay you 2.0% cash back on all energy imported from the grid. We believe in the spirit of giving back to the community, so the only cost for membership is a donation to your local food bank or charity of your choice.