Solar contractors who participate the Solar City program are selected by the property owner and reimbursed by the municipality.
As a contractor, your involvement in the program will follow these steps:
Step 1: Selection and eligibility
- Receive request for quote and assessment from property owner.
Property owners have a general solar contractor selection guideline to help them through the assessment and installation process. Property owners are encouraged to seek at least three quotes to ensure they receive a fair estimate. The municipality does not recommend or specify individual service providers for the program.
You can contact the Solar City office to confirm the property owner has been approved for financing and is therefore eligible to participate under the terms of the agreement with the municipality.
Step 2: Quotation and assessment
- Provide property owner with a quotation and solar energy assessment. The solar energy assessment should include detailed energy savings and costs similar to the one shown here.
- Receive confirmation from property owner to proceed with the proposed solar energy system.
- Provide Solar City office the following documents for review:
- Proof of valid general liability insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000 in coverage.
- Clearance letter from the Workers Compensation Board.
- An active registry ID with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies.
- An accepted quotation that has been signed by the property owner.
- Full equipment specifications.
- Proof that equipment specified is CSA certified (or equivalent).
- Solar energy assessment (which includes, for each array: # of solar modules, module Wattage, azimuth, roof slope and shading as a percentage)
- HRM Solar building permit application.
- Self-Generation documentation (if applicable):
- Completed Plans Review Submission Form
- Electric single line diagram
- Site plan
- Manufacturers equipment specification
- Only portions of a solar system that have a total solar resource fraction (TSRF) of at least 70% will be approved for rebates and financing. This means that north-facing or heavily shaded solar panels may not be approved, depending on azimuth, slope and shading factors.
Step 3: System installation
- Receive confirmation from Solar City office to proceed with system installation.
- Apply for relevant permits and complete installation of solar energy system.
- An Energy Efficiency Equipment Participant Agreement must be signed by all legal property owners and executed by HRM before the install begins otherwise financing will not be approved.
Step 4: Project close out
To close out the project, please forward the following documents to the Solar City office for approval:
- Completed and signed Certification of Completion. Please note all legal property owners must sign the certificate of completion
- Final invoice. The final invoice cannot be more than 105% of the approved system cost, HST included
- Copy of the passed municipal building inspection
- Copy of the passed electrical inspection (if applicable)
- Access to system monitoring (if applicable)
The municipality requires a monitoring system be installed with all solar electric systems for data collection purposes.
Step 5: Payment
- Upon approval of the Certification of Completion, the municipality will reimburse you for work completed.
The Solar City office will review the project completion report and verify the installation as per the original assessment. Once the office deems the report acceptable, it will approve payment to the contractor. Invoices will be paid by the municipality within 30 days of the approved project completion report. The municipality will not reimburse the solar contractor more than 5% of the original quoted price.