Yukon Conservation Society wants to bring 'guerilla solar' movement north

Yukon Conservation Society wants to bring 'guerilla solar' movement north

Fed-up advocates say plug-in solar panels could be a game changer. The Yukon gov't says they're illegal

Amid a 34-per-cent electricity rate hike, the Yukon Conservation Society is calling on Yukoners to take energy production into their own hands.

The non-profit recently took to social media to encourage people to use plug-in solar panels, a technology rapidly growing in popularity in the face of rising energy costs. Plug-in solar remains illegal in Canada because of a lack of formal standards and reluctance on the part of provinces, territories and utilities.

Sebastian Jones, a fish, wildlife and habitat analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society, said many are frustrated by rising utility bills — and fed up with the Yukon government’s indefinite pause of the microgeneration program.

“As long as you have a dedicated circuit that your solar panel is hardwired onto, you can just go and pick up a couple of solar panels and an inverter at Canadian Tire, and you’re off to the races,” Jones said.

The territory stopped issuing permits to connect home solar panels in 2023 after the devices began wreaking havoc on the electrical grid.

Ottawa understands energy woes, Yukon minister says, as feds back Yukon-B.C. grid connect

Yukon government looking to restart renewable energy rebate program

Jones said Yukon Energy found rapid swings in solar caused by changes in weather to be a challenge to manage.

“In small amounts, they had no problem with it, but once it reached a certain threshold, it started to really affect how the grid operated,” he said.

Jones said he’s not aware of any attempts by Yukon Energy to modernize the grid so it can accommodate solar power. He sees plug-in solar as a workaround in the interim, since it doesn’t require an engineer or complex set-up.

Wayne Potoroka, a spokesperson for Yukon's Community Services department, said this method of using solar panels is not certified in Canada and the installation of uncertified electrical equipment is illegal.

Yukon Energy said it doesn’t have a position on plug-in solar given that the technology is not permitted.

John Maissen, who worked as a senior engineer at Yukon Energy for 14 years and has since retired, expressed concerns about possible electrical fires and circuit issues if people were to plug solar systems directly into their home outlets instead of getting one installed by a professional.

But he’s hopeful about the future of renewable energy in the territory. He says a battery could help absorb excess energy and allow the grid to handle the fluctuations that come with solar power.

A grid-scale battery project is in the works. As of this past April, Yukon Energy said the Whitehorse battery project is in its final stages.

But Jones, tired of waiting and inspired by Germany’s “guerrilla solar” movement, feels that forging ahead could be a way to pressure the government to adapt more quickly.

“Maybe, if enough people start doing this, the powers that be — the Yukon government and Yukon Energy — are just going to have to sit up and take notice, and actually drag themselves into the 21st century and accommodate multiple distributed sources of energy on the Yukon grid,” he said.

From Europe to conservative Utah

So-called “balcony solar” arrays were first popularized in Germany following a renegade solar movement which encouraged renters without roof access to use plug-in panels to cut down on energy costs. The German government has since created policies encouraging plug-in solar and protecting the right to access solar power for tenants.

Jones is not the only one to be swept up by the story. In the U.S., Utah state representative Raymond Ward, a Republican, told CBC News he was fired up after reading about it in a newspaper.

“In Germany, you can go to the store, buy a solar panel, bring it home, plug it in, and it would work,” he said. “And I said, 'Why can’t I do that in my state, in my country?'”

Ward was intrigued by the simplicity and affordability of the technology, and the way it allowed people to be more self-sufficient.

“In Utah, to get a roof full of [standard] solar panels is $35,000 to $40,000, and you will never recoup that investment,” he said.

Thanks to Ward’s bill, last year Utah became the first U.S. state to legalize plug-in solar — part of a larger pivot in the state toward solar power. Utah is typically powered by coal but this past May, for the first time, the state got more power from the sun than from any other energy source.

Since then, nine other states have legalized plug-in solar.

When asked about the concerns that have been raised around the technology, Ward said policymakers should look to Germany.

“It has not injured linemen, it has not caused fires, it has not damaged the grid,” he said. “Everything about it has gone well over there, and it’s time for everybody else to realize that."

In June, the non-profit advocacy group Calgary Climate Hub launched a national campaign in an effort to convince Canadian lawmakers to embrace plug-in solar.

Joe Vipond, the organization's co-chair, says the technology would allow lower income people, along with the millions of who live in apartments and condos, to be involved in the energy transition.

When asked about the "guerilla" approach being suggested in the Yukon, Vipond said his focus is advocating for legal systems that meet safety standards.

Vipond said that while there has been “huge momentum” around balcony solar worldwide, there has only been an active conversation in Canada around plug-in solar for under a year.

“People need to give this time,” he said. “We do need to have legislators and the utilities catch up to where the popular sentiment is…. But I can tell you that people are really excited.”

Caitrin Pilkington is a reporter with CBC North in Whitehorse. She previously worked for Cabin Radio in Yellowknife. She can be reached at caitrin.pilkington@cbc.ca.