ECOENERGY GRANT NEWS DOES NOT DETER SOLAR ENTHUSIASM

Released on April 5, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER, B.C. April 6, 2010 — Despite the news that the EcoENERGY Retrofit – Homes Program is no longer accepting new bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations, the SolarBC program remains strong with a $2000 incentive available towards the cost of installing solar hot water on new and existing homes. As well, homeowners who previously entered the program by scheduling or completing a pre-retrofit evaluation before this time will still have the opportunity to apply for and receive the $1250 grant.

"It is unfortunate news but the incentives that are still available will keep solar hot water an economical and viable solution in this province," says SolarBC Program Manager Liz Kelly, who adds that that there is also a $3500 incentive from the City of Vancouver for new builds. "We’re staying busy and have seen a 40 per cent increase in residential installations since the New Year."

The SolarBC incentive will also help homeowners take advantage of a unique Zero Interest loan through partner TD Canada Trust, which makes solar hot water a really affordable option. As well having a system installed on her own home, Liz also took advantage of the SolarBC loan. "I wanted to see for myself just how it worked," she said. "It was really simple and quick. I applied online through the SolarBC website and it took less than 24 hours to get approval."

With no up front cost and no interest to pay, the monthly payments can be as little as $110 a month for five years.

Moving forward SolarBC is currently organizing a cross-province BC Solar Days event on May 28-29, with open houses around the province hosted by homeowners for friends and neighbours and members of the public who are interested in seeing how solar hot water works. Various solar tours and community events will also be held in all nine official Solar Communities.

The number of Solar Communities will soon to be increasing to 15 under the SolarBC program, along with installations planned for 19 local government buildings, 27 schools, social housing and First Nations communities.

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For more information about Solar Days or other SolarBC programs, call toll free: 1-866-650-8126, email info@solarbc.ca