Deployment Incentive Terms and Conditions

This version is effective April 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008.

These are the Terms and Conditions under which deployment incentives will be provided for qualified solar thermal installations in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.

NB: These Terms and Conditions should be read in conjunction with the ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat program Terms and Conditions Guidance Document and the application form.

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1. What is the incentive level?

1. The level of incentive is 25 percent of eligible project costs (40 percent in remote communities).
2. The maximum incentive is $80,000 per installation.
3. The corporate maximum incentive for multiple installations is $2 million.
4. In the case of for-profit applicants, the total project funding from all levels of government is limited to 50 percent of eligible project costs.
5. In the case of municipalities and not-for-profit applicants, the total project funding from all levels of government is limited to 100 percent of eligible project costs.

2. Who is eligible?

To be eligible, the applicant must be from one of the three categories below and must be the owner of the solar heating system at the time of construction:

1. Businesses and industries residing and doing business in Canada
2. Public institutions, such as schools, hospitals, municipalities and not-for-profit organizations
3. Federal facilities

3. What systems qualify?

1. Active solar water and air heating systems that are installed in Canada qualify for the incentive.
2. If a qualifying system is installed in a building that is used in part for residential occupancy, the building must have a common entrance and must either exceed 600 m²in building area or have at least four (above ground) storeys of building height.
3. Eligible systems must use only collectors accepted by the program.
4. Proposed systems that exceed a specified cost per square metre will undergo a technical review before a Contribution Agreement is entered into and may or may not be eligible.

4. What expenses are eligible?

Important: Payment will be made only for expenses incurred after the signing by both parties of a contribution agreement, with the exception of expenses for feasibility, design and simulation studies or for permits, which may be incurred in advance of contribution agreement signing.

1. Feasibility, design and simulation studies
2. The purchase and installation costs of the following new equipment:
   • Solar collectors accepted by the program
   • Solar heat exchangers, solar support structures and solar heat storage equipment
   • Control equipment required for solar system operation
   • Elements of the energy transportation system, including heat transfer fluid, air ducts, dampers, insulation, pumps, fans and water or steam piping used exclusively by the qualifying system, up to and including the point of interface with the end-use distribution equipment
   • Photovoltaic components used to power pumps and/or fans in a qualifying system
3. Permits that are exclusively for the installation of the qualifying system
4. Site supervision
5. Labour
6. Shipping
7. Commissioning of the qualifying system

5. What expenses are not eligible?

1. Goods and Services Tax (GST), Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
2. Used, recycled or refurbished equipment
3. Removal of existing heating systems
4. Structural components of a building
5. Back-up heating systems
6. Spare parts inventory in support of a qualifying system
7. Operating costs including fuel, electricity, maintenance and insurance costs
8. Destratification fans
9. Heat-recovery ventilators and other energy efficiency equipment
10. Environmental assessments

6. Will an environmental assessment be required?

Program administrators will review each application to determine whether or not an environmental assessment pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act is required. If an environmental assessment is deemed necessary, the cost of the assessment will be the responsibility of the applicant and will not be considered an eligible project expense.

7. How do I apply?

An ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat program application form must be completed and sent to the program at the address below.

8. How will I get paid?

Important: Payment will be made only for expenses incurred after the signing by both parties of a contribution agreement, with the exception of expenses for feasibility, design and simulation studies and for permits, which may be incurred in advance.

Eligible projects must be completed and commissioned within  nine (9) months of the signing of a contribution agreement.

Within 30 days of the commissioning of a solar project, the applicant must submit all of the following to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan):

1. A commissioning report signed by a professional engineer or a certified engineering technologist;
2. Copies of all relevant invoices;
3. A signed attestation form PDF (1.25 MB);
4. Payment request form
   • Solar Air Heating System PDF (20.0 KB); and
   • Solar Water Heating System PDF (20.0 KB).

A cheque will be issued for NRCan's portion of the eligible solar project costs once all of the above have been received and are deemed acceptable to the program, and all requirements of the contribution agreement have been met.

9. Will the incentive have to be repaid?

The incentive will become repayable if all of the following apply:

1. The funding recipient is a for-profit business; and
2. The NRCan-supported solar installation is leased or rented, or it produces heat that is sold; and
3. Resulting revenues in the first five years exceed 150 percent of the total project cost.

10. Whom should I contact?

ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat
Renewable and Electrical Energy Division
Natural Resources Canada
615 Booth Street, Room 150
Ottawa ON  K1A 0E9
Fax: 613-943-6517
E-mail:  ecoenergyrhp@nrcan.gc.ca
Web site:  http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/ecoenergy-ecoenergie/